


Gin no Umi o Wataru (To Cross A Silver Sea)

by fhsa_archivist



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Series
Genre: Angst, Drama, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-02-24
Updated: 2006-02-11
Packaged: 2019-02-05 14:54:49
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 94,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12796818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fhsa_archivist/pseuds/fhsa_archivist
Summary: The beginning... Joey has dreams and realizes that they mean danger for someone he knew, in a past life. Main Pairings are SetoxJoey. Minor pairs are Malik/Rashid/Marik, Yami/Yugi, Ryou/Bakura, Ryou/Bakura/Tristan. Some chapters deal with Rape, Abuse, Self-inflicted Injury, and other bad stuff. That's why I have the warning on this first chapter, even though it's not in this first chapter. When it comes up, I'll warn again, but I'm human which means I may not or I may warn on the wrong chapter.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Haven, the archivist: This story was originally archived at [Fandom Haven Story Archive (FHSA)](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Fandom_Haven_Story_Archive), was scheduled to shut down at the end of 2016. To preserve the archive, I began working with the OTW to transfer the stories to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in November 2017. If you are this creator and the work hasn't transferred to your AO3 account, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Fandom Haven Story Archive collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/fhsa/profile).

Gin no Umi o Wataru

(To cross the Silver Sea) 

 

Joey shot up, the sheet slipping down his chest to pool around his waist. Sweat soaked the sheet and caused it to stick to his skin as he slipped out of bed. Padding to the bathroom, he stared at his face in the mirror. _This has got to stop. Every day for three weeks, I dream about him. And the same dream for the past week. I gotta talk to Yami tomorrow. Maybe he can fix this. He has to._ Splashing water on his face, Joey walked out to the front room. Collapsing on the sofa, he turned on the TV. It was five hours until school starts, no point in trying to sleep again.

 

===============================

 

Yugi frowned and leaned forward. Jabbing his pencil into Joey's side, he hissed, "Wake up. Come on, Joey, wake up! Joey!"

Joey jerked his head up, "Huh? Oh... thanks Yuge."

"Tristan copied your assignment for you. Is something wrong, Joey?" Yugi asked, his eyes shining.

Joey turned and nodded to Tristan. "Thanks. Yeah. Do you mind if I talk to Yami later? I think he can help me with this."

"Of course I don’t mind. We have lunch after this. Meet me outside by the large tree?" Yugi suggested.

Joey nodded again and pretended to listen to the teacher teach. As soon as the bell rung, Joey left his seat and headed outside. Getting to the tree, he sat down and leaned against its rough bark. Closing his eyes, he tried not to fall asleep. Soon a soundless bright flash lightened his eyelids. Opening his eyes, he looked up at Yami.

"Hey Yami."

"Hello Joey, Yugi said you were having a problem?" Yami sat down on the grass.

"Yeah... I’m having dreams and I was wonderin’ if you could help me with them."

"Tell me about them."

"For the past three weeks, I’ve been dreaming about me and someone in class. The first week it was one dream, over and over and over again. The next week, it’s us but a new setting and that dream repeats over for a week, now for the past two nights same thing. New setting but us and it repeats over and over and over. I don’t know what it means but each dream ends the same. The other person dissolves. They turn to rock and crumble or sand that’s blown away or ice that shatters. They’re in danger and I wake up too scared to scream."

"I see... can you tell me the latest dream?" Yami asked quietly.

"Yeah, it starts out with me, but not me, sitting on sand...

 

===============================

 

He sat on the soft sand. The moon above with her attendant jewels, the stars turned the vista into a rippling wave of silver. A night wind carrying the burnt scent of the sand blew up behind him, tugging at the blue robe he wore, passing through the light weave, caressing his body. A shush shush of sound behind him warned him of his companion coming closer. Behind the blue clad man, his companion knelt beside him. Draping a soft golden cloak over him, the companion whispered into his ear. 

"I know you miss your seas, I wish I could give them back to you. The soft silver sea of sand doesn’t compare but it is all I can offer you. Now we must go... if we are to be back home before the sun rises, we must leave now. The sandboat awaits us. Come."

He nodded, staying seated and watching as the night wind created waves in the sand sea. He watched as his companion pulled him to his feet and guided him back to their sandboat. Turning from the sight, he hugged his companion smelling the musty burnt smell of the desert, before his companion dissolved into a pile of desert sand that the night wind blew away. Leaving two dark blue sapphires.

 

===============================

 

"That’s it?" Yami asked softly.

"Yeah. Then it starts all over again." Joey leaned back. "I can’t sleep without dreaming about this."

"I see. Tell me, what do you think it is?"

"I don’t know, that’s why I’m asking you! It’s a warning but why is it happening? What am I supposed to do with it?"

"Calm down, Joey. Since Battle City, I’ve been getting more and more of my memories back. And I’ve been thinking. I can remember vaguely one case which is similar. It was a young girl who loved to watch us play the Shadow Game. Her exposure to the Shadow Realm caused her other lives to awaken. For a time she enjoyed it. Until they became nightmares. She saw someone dying. We searched for him for one and half years while she was slowly driven mad. We found him. Right before he was to board a boat down the Nile. We took him into custody. The boat sank two days out. Five days before his scheduled stop."

"So h- this person’s gonna die, is that it?" Joey looked 

"Not if we can stop it. The reason you were given the warning is that you are connected to this person, not just in one life but in many it seems. This person is close to you. Your souls care for each other. Even if right now you barely know each other, you are destined to be at least friends."

"So what do I do now?" Joey whispered.

"For now, do this. Every night I want you to write down every detail of your dreams, sketch everything you can remember and bring it to me. Start tonight and don’t fight your dreams."

"Sure thing." Joey jumped up as the warning bell rang. "Thanks Yami."

"Not a problem, my friend." The light flashed and suddenly Yugi reappeared. He grabbed Joey’s hand and started back towards the school. "Come on, we’re gonna be late."

 

===============================

 

Joey stared at his reflection in the mirror. Frowning, he reached for his toothbrush. Sighing, he slammed it back on to the counter. _Ya already brushed your teeth three times tonight, doofus. It’s just a dream, it can’t hurt ya. Just gotta do it like Yami said and write it down._ Nodding after giving himself the pep speech, he headed over to his bed. He made sure that there was a notebook and pen on the bedside table and opened the book to the first page.

Satisfied with his arrangements, Joey climbed into bed. Closing his eyes, he could smell the burnt desert air.

 

===============================

 

Joey wandered around the room. Smiling he sat on the bed, bouncing slightly he laughed silently. Getting up, he pried and opened things. Warm brown arms wrapped around him, before a sharp chin rested on his shoulder.

"Hello, my love. The ceremonies are over. Give me a minute to change into something more comfortable and we can go. I had the kitchen prepare us dinner and I ordered them to ready the boat."

Joey bit his lip and turned to face the man holding him. The priest, for he must be one, dressed in the finest linen with gold and color all over him, smiled at him. The priest removed a gold and linen headdress, tossing it onto a couch. "I wish you would speak more, beloved. Your voice will not come back if you stay silent."

__

I don’t want to speak, why must you nag?

"Just because I can hear thoughts, doesn’t excuse you from talking. I want to hear your voice again, my love. I love when you sang." The priest walked over, whispering the words. Gently he cupped Joey's face, kissing Joey’s lips softly. "Go change. I can’t wait to be out on the sand. To feel the wind in your hair. Your beautiful sun hair."

__

You are strange, beloved. My voice is ruined along with the rest of me.

"You are not ruined."

Joey licked his lips. "You are the only one who thinks that."

"The others don’t count. Go change."

Joey stood before the closet, wondering what to put on, when the priest brushed past him. His dark blue eyes flashing and the tail of his dark brown hair flipping, he pulled out a long sleeve green shirt with a cream tunic embroidered with emeralds. Smiling, the priest tossed a light tan cape and pants to Joey. 

"Dress... I’ll go..."

"I love you."

"I love you too, sea-eyes." The priest sat on the bed and watched Joey dress. The priest was dressed in sheer blue tunic and pants with gold embroidered symbols on the edges.

Once Joey was dressed, the priest took his hand and led him out the room. Keeping to the shadows they headed downstairs to the boat bay. Nodding to his servant the priest helped his lover into the boat. Joey raised the sails and pulled up the anchor. The priest jumped in as the air filled the sails and the boat took off. Joey stood as the wind rushed around him. They flew across the sands, spewing flumes of cinnamon sparkle as they passed. 

It was as if they flew. Joey luxuriated in the feel of the warm body pressed close to him, warm arms around him, the wind whispering. All too soon, it ended. The priest slowed the boat and they stopped. Miles away from anyone and the burnt cinnamon smell floated around them. Joey tensed up, he wouldn’t, couldn’t let this happen again. The priest loved him, he could... love the priest. Joey stared at those beautiful treacherous dunes. Hugging himself, he stepped back into the priest’s arms. 

"Come we’ll go sit for a while up there." The priest led him up and they sat, Joey warm in his arms. Soon the priest kissed him and got up, murmuring about getting the food. Joey sat on the soft sand. The moon above with her attendant jewels, the stars turned the vista into a rippling wave of silver. A night wind carrying the burnt scent of the sand blew up behind him, tugging at the blue robe he wore, passing through the light weave, caressing his body. A shush shush of sound behind him warned him of his companion coming closer. Behind the blue clad man, his companion knelt beside him. Draping a soft golden cloak over him, the companion whispered into his ear. 

Joey shook his head. _No... please._

"I know you miss your seas, I wish I could give them back to you. The soft silver sea of sand doesn’t compare but it is all I can offer you. Now we must go... if we are to be back home before the sun rises, we must leave now. The sandboat awaits us. Come."

Joey tried not to turn, he knew what would happen. _Not this time, I want to stay here this time._

He nodded, staying seated and watching as the night wind created waves in the sand sea. He watched as his companion pulled him to his feet and guided him back to their sandboat. Turning from the sight, he hugged his companion smelling the musty burnt smell of the desert, before his companion dissolved into a pile of desert sand that the night wind blew away. Leaving two dark blue sapphires.

Joey stood for a moment before his knees gave out. Collapsing in the sand, he let the tears run. His voice hoarse from disuse cried out. "Sef—!"

 

===============================

 

Joey woke up. His heart pounded with fright and loss. Opening his eyes, he counted his breaths until they slowed down. Groaning, he turned over and pulled the notebook towards him. Blearily he started writing, glancing at the clock. Seeing he had three hours before school, he lost himself in the writing. Quickly he sketched the sand boat, the priest in his finery, and the priest in his blue outfit. For some reason it seemed important to get the symbols right. When he filled up four pages, he lay back. Turning to look at the clock he jumped out of bed. Smiling for the first time in weeks he got ready for school.

Joey waited impatiently for Yugi to show up. Spotting the short 16 year old, he walked over. "Hey Yuge."

"Joey, how are you? Did you sleep OK last night? Yami said you were having some bad dreams." Yugi asked.

"Yeah, well I did like he asked, I wrote everything I could remember down." Joey pulled out the notebook. "Here ya go."

Yugi took it. "Thanks. Yami will look at it in class. Meet for lunch?"

"Yeah Yugi, at the tree." Joey nodded and headed off to his class. A flash of dark brown hair caught his eyes and he watched as his former lover walked into the school.

 

===============================

Yami stood under the tree pacing. _Where is he, Aibou?_

He’ll come, promise. Yugi replied. _Is it bad? Is Joey in danger?_

Not Joey... but someone and yes it is bad. Yami turned to look for his friend.

"Hey!" Joey popped up from behind him. "Thanks for showing up, Yami."

"Joey... of course I did. Sit... I have a few questions." Yami sat on the ground. "First, why is there no face on the priest?"

"Ummm cause you’ll recognize him?" Joey mumbled.

"Joey," Yami sighed, "I want to recognize him. How can I help him if I don’t know what he looks like?"

Joey deflated and hung his head down. "Seto... it’s Seto."

"Kaiba? I see. He is in danger, Joey. Look." Yami pulled out the notebook and flipped through the pages. Turning the book towards Joey, he showed him the picture of the priest. "Notice what you drew, and drew quite well, on the edges of his sleeves and around the hem. Those symbols are readable. ‘Danger. Death. Overwhelmed. Power. Alone. Crushed.’ Over and over they repeat. The dreams are a warning for Kaiba. He’s experienced the Shadow Realm before so he will believe in the danger it presents. Whether he will believe that he himself is in danger... I do not know but I do know we can not let him be harmed. Mokuba needs him so much."

"Yeah... so what do we do?" Joey brought one leg up and rested his chin against his knee.

"We talk to him, tell him what’s happening and get him to make choices with our help. He will neither thank us nor respect us if we make decisions without him. Now, perhaps I can see him after school. Can you remember any of the previous dreams?"

"Yeah, want me to write them down too?" Joey asked softly.

"Yes, I want to see them before I talk to Kaiba."

"Ummm let me try to talk to him earlier? I don’t know but I just need to." 

"I understand, Joey. I’ll talk to him tomorrow." Yami smirked. "Come, it’s time for class again."

"Sure thing, I’ll bring the notebook over a bit after school."

"Fine." A light flashed and Yugi looked up at Joey. "Race you!" Yugi took off.

Joey laughed and ran after him.

 

===============================

 

Joey leaned back against the wall. Seto came striding out of the school as if he could barely wait to shake the scum that is the student body off of himself. Keeping himself separate from them, he strode through the other teenagers. Joey shook his head and pushed off from the wall.

"Hey Seto! Yo!" Joey walked up to Seto.

Seto looked at him with ice in his glare. "What did you call me?"

"Huh? Uhhh that doesn’t matter. Look I gotta talk to you." Joey followed Seto as he headed towards the car waiting for him.

"I don’t want to talk to you." Seto turned away, muttering, "Inu."

"Well, fine! But when Mokuba gets hurt, it’s your fault for not listening." Joey called after him.

Seto stopped and turned his head. Slowly he held out one hand before pointing at the ground beside him. Speaking glacially, Seto asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well, can we talk about it some place else. Remember where Pegasus kept Mokuba, the real Mokuba and you during Duelist Kingdom Finals? It concerns that. That’s why I asked Yami for help. It... I don’t know how to explain this without you thinking I’m insane."

Seto smirked, "I already think you are but you are right. If there is danger to my little brother, I want it to be kept secret." Seto led the way over to his car and slid into the back seat. "Get in, Inu."

Joey sighed and slid in. "You know it would be easier to talk to you if you didn’t keep calling me ‘dog’.

Seto smiled slowly, "Very well Wheeler. Talk."

Joey sighed, giving Seto a glance. "Ok... apparently people are affected differently by how much exposure they get to the Shadow Realm. Outta me, Téa, Tristan, and Yugi; only Yugi and I duel much. And we were the two who competed in Duelist’s Kingdom, same with Battle City. Well the Shadow Realm did something to me and it’s starting to show now."

"And this threatens Mokuba how?"

"I keep having these dreams about you and me. We’re friends, sometime... more." Joey mumbled. "Anyways at the end of each dream you... crumble and blow away, or turn to stone and shatter, or somehow in some way you are destroyed. It got so bad, I went to the library. I was sure that this was just an over active imagination. That none of this could be real but the details matched real things. So then I thought, ‘hey! It could be past life. I should ask Yami about it.’ So I did. They are. We knew each other then. So I asked Yami why I kept having the dreams. He remembers this happening before and said the images of you breaking, crumbling, and dying all mean the same thing. You’re in danger, great danger. And correct me if I’m wrong but if you die, Mokuba will be hurting badly. Worse you couldn’t do anything about it."

"I see." Seto rubbed his forehead. "So what you are saying is that because you had a bad dream, I’m gonna die."

"NO! But that’s cause back then we were friends and close, that now that you are in danger, I’m being warned. I’m being warned so that I can warn you."

"OK... then why didn’t it warn me directly?"

"I don’t know. Maybe it can’t. Yami said the Shadow Realm affects people differently. This time it lets me see that you are in danger. Tonight I’m gonna talk to Yami to see how to get you out."

"I see... and you remember everything about each of the dreams?" Seto leaned forward and tapped on the barrier separating them from the driver. The car started moving.

"No," Joey pulled the notebook out of his book bag, waving it in front of Seto. "I wrote them down, Yami asked me to. "

Seto reached for it, only to have Joey snatch it back. "Nope... I gotta take it to Yami today... I'll... ah go by the store and copy it for you tomorrow."

Seto frowned as the notebook was yanked from his reach. "No. Come over tonight after you finish talking to Yami. If this concerns me, I want to be kept up to date. In fact, I demand to."

"Of course you do. And Yami wanted to tell you but hey... those dreams came to me for some reason so I figured that I should tell you."

Seto smiled slightly, "True. Very well." Seto reached into his briefcase, finding a pen, he scribbled something for a minute. Handing a card to Joey, he flipped it over. "My address and my private number. Call before you come."

Joey smiled at Seto, his lips curling slightly and a faint touch of sweetness entered his eyes. "Sure thing. After all... we can't let Mokuba lose you now. Hey can you drop me near the Kame Game shop?"

Seto flicked open a small cover and pressed a button. "Kame Game Shop. On Shueisha Street." The car turned.

Joey leaned back and opened the notebook. Smiling slightly, he started to sketch in some of the details of the sand boat. Reaching into his book bag, he pulled out some color pencils and proceeded to add color to the picture. Slowly Seto stood up and sat next to Joey, staring at the picture.

"What is that?"

Joey jumped a bit. "The sand boat. From my dreams. You ordered the servants to ready it and pack food. We snuck out and took off. It was like flying. You taught me to pilot it and we'd take it out on the dune for hours. Flying over the sand, kicking up waves of tan and silver and red. Sometimes we'd get a really great wind and we'd fly for hours. Once we went so far that you had us push the boat into the Nile so we could get home before sun-high. I loved it, I... we were so happy, I wanted to sing. You spoiled me, Sef- ahhh never mind. It's not important." Joey moved away from Seto and pulled his book bag open. 

"Wait. Tell me more. What was the name of the boat, where did it come from, why did I- we have a boat in the desert?" Seto softened his voice.

"Ahhh, let me talk to Yami first." Joey stuttered, jumping back into the seat. Blinking quickly he straightened up. Joey felt the car slow, looking out the window, he could see the game shop. Yanking open the door, he jumped out with his book bag. Running towards the shop, he turned and called back to Seto, "See ya tonight." 

Seto closed the car door and knocked on the dividing window. Slowly the car merged back into traffic.

===============================

Joey shook his head as he closed the door behind him. Leaning back, he took a few breaths to calm down. 

"You do have it bad." Yami said from close by.

Joey startled, banged his head into the door. "Yami don't do that! And got what bad?"

Yami chuckled, red eyes glinting devilishly. "Your... crush, desire, infatuation, love of Kaiba."

"I do _not_ have a crush on Seto!"

"I see." Yami smirked. "Grandfather is out, so we can go up to Yugi's room. Tell me, did you write anymore or remember any more of the dreams?"

Joey let Yami lead the way. "Nah, not really, I colored in the pictures though. It seemed important for some reason."

"It may be, what can look like merely a bunch of lines intersecting can take on different meaning when colors are applied. So how did you end up coming here with Kaiba?"

"Seto? I told him about the dreams. No details but that I had to talk to you. He wants to be kept informed, says it's his right. I told him okay and then he offered me a ride."

"Well of course we'll keep him informed. This danger is to him and maybe even Mokuba. I don't want either of them hurt. Now may I see what you have done?" Yami held his hand out for the notebook. Joey handed it to him. 

Yami looked over the notebook slowly, noting which pictures had colors and which didn't. Voice low, he sounded out some of the symbols in various pictures. At times he would gasp or turn quickly back to a previous part as if comparing or putting together a picture in his mind. Finally, he came to the last page and stared at the picture. Slowly he turned towards Joey.

"Do you know what you have drawn?" Yami asked, his voice with all the command of the Pharaoh in it.

"Wha?" Joey looked up, "What's wrong?"

Yami opened the book, turning it; he showed Joey the last picture. It depicted a beautiful boat sailing over a sea of sand but what caught Joey's eye was the eye. The eye on the sail, so similar to the one of Yugi's puzzle, Yami's home. The eye was on the crosspiece of a huge golden scale. 

"Isn't that a... whayamacallit... a scale. They used those in old days to weigh things right?" Joey asked.

"Yes, a scale. But Joey the scale has a special significance in Egyptian religion. When you die, you go into the Hall of Judgment. There you have to face forty-two gods. To each one you have to swear that you have not committed a particular evil. After that your heart is weighed against a feather of Ma’at. Ma’at is the goddess of Justice. If your heart sank, you were evil; if it rose, you were good. If it rose, you went onto eternal life. And it was the job of our Priests to make sure we died with a light heart. So this symbol means your... lover in the past was a priest but this is not just any priest. A simple priest might use a lead scale, a higher priest bronze. A priest serving the nobility, silver. A priest who serves one of the royal family, gold. Only the high priest used the Millennium Scale. Which means Kaiba was my Priest or some Pharaoh's Priest. Do you... have you ever called him by name in your dreams?"

"Not really but... last night it was different, the dream. It started earlier. Like the dream started before we was out there. We were still in their rooms and when we get to the end of the dream, I wanted to call him... Sef--, Sef- something."

"Seferet. His name was Seferet. He was my high priest. And the owner of the Millennium Scale. I think it's time I call Shadi in." Yami reached over for the phone. "Maybe he can help. 

===============================

Seto leaned back, his supple leather chair creaking. Frowning, he stared at the wall. Somehow he had to reduce his technology department on the Sphinx assignment without losing any of his people. Tapping his bottom lip with his pen, he sat back up. With a sigh of disgust, he stood up. A rustle let him know that he knocked something from his desk. Turning, he picked it up. Frowning at the plain brown envelope, he turned it over. It was from Mokuba's school. Opening it, he worried. Had his inattention caused Mokuba's grades to go down? Was he hurting his brother? Reading the letter, he chuckled and left the office. Moving quickly, he headed towards the dining room. 

Mokuba was munching through his dinner, his homework next to him. He hoped that if he managed to finish his homework early, that Seto would let him stay up tonight. 

Seto walked up behind his little brother and knelt down. "Hey Otouto, I read the letter, congratulations."

"Seto!" Mokuba turned and hugged his brother. "Pretty good, huh?"

"Nope, Excellent. So when are the finals?"

"In a week, I think you have to go to China that Saturday." Mokuba said between bites.

"I'll cancel. Who else made it?" Seto got up and sat in a chair. Sighing, he reached over and made a plate for himself.

"You don't have to. Umm Just me from my school but three others from my district."

"I want to, Mokuba. You're my brother. Good. Do you want to watch something tonight?" Seto ate swiftly, taking careful bites. 

"Yeah! A new series starts tonight at 10:00. I know it's an hour..."

"You can stay up, I'll be in at 11 to make sure you go to bed, don't worry. And I really am proud of you."

"I know." Mokuba wrote one more answer down and closed his book, trapping his homework in it.

"Is that math?" Seto gestured towards the closed book.

"Hmm yeah, Algebra."

Seto beckoned and Mokuba handed him the book. "When you're done, go shower ok? I'll read over this, you can fix it if you need to before your show."

"Thanks, Seto." Mokuba hugged his brother and left.

Seto ate slowly as he checked over Mokuba's homework.

===============================

Joey shifted from foot to foot, bouncing as the phone rang. A fat drop of water fell off his hair. "Come on, answer Seto!" The phone rang twice more.

"Kaiba."

"Hey, It's Joey. Ummm is it too late to come over there?" Joey asked quietly.

"No, I'm still up. Do you want me to send the car for you?" Seto asked.

"Nah, just open the gate in about two minutes. I'm right down the street from you."

"It's pouring out there." Seto pointed out, a finger rubbing his eyebrow.

"Yeah, when I started out, it wasn't like this. So will ya?" Joey shifted from side to side.

"Yes, come on. I'll have the gate open when you get here."

"Thanks, Seto." Joey hung up and walked up the road. Soon enough he trudged up the walkway. The door opened before he could knock. Two towels were tossed at him.

"Dry off. I wouldn't have made you walk here in the rain. I'm not that evil."

"Never thought ya were, Seto." Joey stepped in, toweling his head. Tossing the second towel behind him.

"I told you we should have called him from the game shop, Joey." Yugi peered around Joey. "Thank you, Kaiba."

Seto raised one eyebrow and looked at Yugi. "I thought nothing could get that hair to lie flat."

Yugi grinned and rubbed his hair. "Yami doesn't like it much. When it started raining, he... retreated."

"Yami isn't stupid. So did you have your... talk?" Seto leaned over and subtly pressed a button.

"Yeah... we did, and you really are gonna wanna know this. I wonder if you and Yami are related." 

Seto froze halfway to standing up, "Do... not... even... joke... about... that."

"Ya never know. Anyways... we got some information for ya."

A uniformed older lady entered the room. "Yes, sir."

"Take them and let them change into dry. Then wash and dry their clothes. You two go with her. Bring them to my study when they have changed." Seto stared at them as they followed the woman out of the room. Turning to check the clock, he winced when he saw that it was five minutes to eleven. He headed off to put Mokuba to bed.

===============================

Joey swung his foot, impatiently.

"Joey, he may not mind our coming this late but he will mind if you mar his furniture." Yami pointed out tiredly.

"Huh? Oh yeah, just what's up about making us wait?"

Seto opened the door, "I had to put Mokuba to bed. I let him stay up an hour later tonight."

"Yah! You and Yami have to be related. You both sneak around so quietly."

"We don't sneak, you're just too busy making noise to listen to what's going on around you."

"Yeah, uh huh, so how's Mokuba?"

"He's fine. Now what is this information you wanted to let me know?" Seto settled in his chair.

Yami pulled his chair closer to the desk and laid out the notebook. "For the past few days I have had Joey write down everything he could remember about his dreams. He even drew illustrations. Good ones, I'm proud to say. Now he told me that he talked to you earlier. What did he say?"

"That I was in danger and perhaps Mokuba was too. That he was having dreams but you said they were memories of past lives. That he and I were friends, back then at least."

"Good. Well I spent some time meditating on my past and I remember some parts of your life. The key was in the drawings. This one." Yami flipped to the picture of the sandboat under sail. "This one, notice the design on the sail. When I first saw it, it was a bunch of same thickness random lines, but when Joey added color to them, I could see it. A scale, with the Millennium Eye on it. The scales are a symbol of the Priesthood. Gold scales are members who served the royal family; the Millennium Scales, he served the Pharaoh. This is your ship, you would never have stolen it. To do so would bring the wrath of the Gods. You were my high Priest, Seferet. 

"I remembered the first day, you saw him, the Joey-who-was. He was ill and sunburned. You claimed him for the Gods. You spent hours tending him. You taught him our language. When your wife died, you took him to be your mate, to help raise your children. The Joey-that-was was so important to you. Unfortunately, I don't know what happened because I went into the puzzle before your death but there is **every** reason the scales would have returned to you. Perhaps they gave you all of the Millennium Items. I've contacted someone else who lived then, I'm hoping that he can tell me what happened after I went into the puzzle."

"I see... and how is this a danger to me or my brother?"

"Because someone's after it. It's not Bakura or Malik. So it's someone else who wants to harness the power of the scales. Only those destined for them can use the Millennia items but tell me truthfully Kaiba, if someone takes Mokuba and tells you that unless you use the Scales for whatever they wish you to use them, they'll kill Mokuba. Tell me that you won't do it."

"Of course I would, only up until the time I can launch an assault, get Mokuba back, and kill anyone who hurt him." Seto ground out, his eyes flashing.

"Well, now you understand. I just wished I remembered what the Scales special talent is." Yami frowned.

"Yami don't all the Items have something to do with the soul?" Joey asked.

"Yes, Joey, they do.

"Well you said that when you died, y'all believe that your soul was weighed on a scale. Maybe it weighs souls or it can tell you if a person is right for something?" Joey shrugged.

"I think you're right, Joey. Very astute. Now we need to know who is doing this and why. To help us figure this out, I need another favor, Kaiba."

Seto shrugged and nodded.

"I need Joey to stay here tonight, he doesn't have to sleep in the same room but in a nearby one will be ok."

"Wha?!" Joey jerked upright.

"What?" Seto repeated.

"I need to see what effect having Joey close to you will have on the dreams. When he acknowledged that they were trying to send him a message, they changed. Now let's see what happens when you sleep in the same house. Joey, is this ok with you?" Yami whispered. 

"Yeah, maybe this time, it'll give me a better clue. Is it ok with you, Seto?" Joey turned to face him.

"Fine. I'll let you stay in the room next to mine and you, Yami?"

"We have to go home. Suguroku would flip if he came home and Yugi wasn't there. The rain has stopped and it's not far."

"It's dangerous anyhow." Seto picked up his small black phone, dialing two digits. "Ken, pull the car around, you're going to take Yami Muto to Kame Game Shop."

"Thank you."

"I'll bring your uniform to school."

"Thanks again, we will find out who this is Kaiba and stop them. I give you my word as Pharaoh and as a friend." Yami bowed and left.

Seto stood up, "Come on, I'll show you where you'll be sleeping." Silently Seto lead Joey through the house. Finally stopping at a large door, he opened it. "Here you are. The maid will wake you up at six, breakfast at seven."

"Cool. Thanks a lot. If you dream tonight, you should write it down. I'm sure Yami would be interested."

"I will... sleep well."

"You too." Joey slipped in and closed the door.

Seto walked across the hall to his room and no sooner than he was inside, he started undressing. Tossing his clothes into a chair, he climbed into bed. After today, he didn't see how he could get to sleep. Especially since the owner of those remarkable sea green eyes that had haunted his dreams for months, was across the hall.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

Gin no Umi o Wataru 2

 

Joey leaned back into Sef's arms. His head rolled into the crook of Sef's neck. Smiling, he kissed the tanned silky throat. Sef laughed and started singing again. His rich voiced flowed over Joey's skin like the dark honey from the pharaoh's hive. Joey purred and licked Sef's neck. Sef chuckled before continuing.

_[Sweet, sweet, sweet as honey in my mouth, His kisses on my lips, my breast, my hair; But now my heart is as the sun-scorched South, Where lie the fields deserted, grey and bare._

_Come! Come! Come! And kiss me when I die, For life, compelling life, is in thy breath; And at that kiss, though in the tomb I lie, I will arise and break the bands of Death.]_

 

 

_Would you? Really?_ Joey asked silently.

"Yes, no matter what happens I will always find you. In Death and beyond." Sef hugged Joey closer, his fingers tracing patterns on Joey's skin.

Joey laughed as the fingers tickled him and squirmed away. Sef smiled at his lover before moving like an asp and wrapping his arm around Joey's waist. Falling to the bed, Sef twisted so Joey would be under him. Leaning over Joey, he pressed his golden sea god under him.

"Beauty, my beautiful sea eyes. Now is the time for love." Sef leaned down, kissing him gently, his hands tracing Joey's shoulders. Traveling down, the unbuckled the thin gold belt and nudged Joey's legs open. "Mine."

 

===============================

 

Joey lay in bed, the maid having just left, and stretched until he could hear his joints pop. Yawning, he got up and noticed his uniform, washed and ironed, on the dresser. Along with a toothbrush and toothpaste. Stumbling from bed, he grabbed all of the stuff and headed to the other door in the room. Opening, he found a closet.

"Wha-oh." Joey turned and saw another door on the other wall and headed for it. Finding the bathroom, complete with towel and face cloth, he took a shower.

By six forty-five Joey had managed to find his way to the dining room. Opening the door, he peered around the corner. "Hey Mokuba!"

"Joey? You stayed over?" Mokuba looked up and smiled.

"Yeah, We got here late and soaking wet. Seto insisted that I stay over." Joey walked over and sat down near Mokuba.

" _Seto_? My oniichan? Wow. It's almost time for breakfast, I better go get him."

"What? Like he's not up?" Joey teased.

"Well that's the problem... he is up. And has been since probably about four." Mokuba sighed.

"Four! But we didn't get to bed until after 11. Idiot, he needs to rest. Where is he?"

"Probably in his office." Mokuba tried not to smirk.

"Office, huh, well me and Seto... I'm gonna talk to him." Joey got up and opened the door. "Ahhh, where's his office?"

"Go down the hall, make a left, the first door on your right."

"Thank, Mokuba." Joey left, closing the door.

Mokuba giggled, trying to hold it in but eventually gave into his laughter. _My brother is letting Joey call him **Seto**?_

 

===============================

 

Joey knocked, after waiting for a minute he cracked open the door. Seto was sitting in a rich dark blue leather chair, reading the paper and singing softly to himself. Joey looked at him, remembering a time when Sef would be busy at his work, singing softly. A soft smile graced Joey's face as he strained to hear what Seto was singing.

 

_[Kitta! Kitta! Kitta! Soshite, shinu toki kisu wo shinasai! inochi de wa, setsujitsu na inochi ga ibuki no nake de; kisu wo suru toki, haka de netemo, nobotte Shi no obigane wo kowasu!]_

Joey stood there, watching the sunlight pass through the slatted blinds and fall on Seto's neck and face. Sighing, he straightened up and opened the door gently. Walking over he leaned against the desk. "You have a sweet voice, sorta warm and furry, Seto."

Seto looked up startled, his face flushing slightly. "Wheeler."

"Hey, Mokuba said you were up since around 4 or so. Not good. You need sleep, probably more than any of us. You got to pass school, take care of Mokuba, and a company. You need to take care of yourself or let someone take care of you."

"Mokuba says that's his job."

"Maybe but he's a kid, he should stay a kid for as long as he can, Seto. But I'm not here to argue, it's time for breakfast."

"Very well... I'll be in shortly." Seto raised the paper only to have Joey take it from his hands.

"Now, if you don't sleep right, we need to make sure you eat right. I don't want you fainting in school." Joey walked out and leaned against the wall. _What the hell am I doing?_

 

===============================

 

Joey stared at the notebook on his desk, sighing. He had hoped that he could remember more before school started, before Yami looked over it. Putting pen to paper he let it flow. Graceful pictures in lines, a marching rhythm of symbols. Disgusted at not being able to remember anything else, he dropped the notebook back onto the desk.

A shadow fell onto the desk. Joey looked up to see his friend Tristan.

"Hey Joey, is everything ok?" Tristan asked.

"Yeah, sorta. Spent the night at Seto's."

"At Kaiba's? What's going on with you two and don't say nothing!" Tristan stared at Joey, eyes wide in amazement. "First you spend almost two weeks watching him, now you're spending the night over at his place? Look if you two are... ummm I won't tell but you shouldn't keep it from me."

"Tristan... wait, no, it's not that. Look I'll tell ya at lunch, promise." Joey stared at his friend. "I mean it."

"Ok, but we're gonna fight if you don't."

"I will. Promise." Joey noticed Yugi come in. "At lunch. Hey Yuge!"

"Joey, how did things go last night?" Yugi picked up the notebook.

"Fine, I wrote down what I could remember. Mostly it was me... looking at a piece of... paper almost with a bunch of them symbols written in short lines. That and hearing music."

"Music?"

"Yeah... real nice music, almost familiar. I get the idea it’s a sad song but it makes me feel... warm, happy-like. And Seto's voice just... fits it."

The door to the classroom opened and the teacher entered. "Let's begin."

Yugi sighed and went to his seat. Joey slouched in his chair, humming the song. Tristan watched Joey out of the corner of his eye, wondering.

 

===============================

 

Joey got his lunch and wandered over to an empty corner where Yugi and Tristan were sitting. "Hey, guys."

"Hey Joey. So... sit and talk." Tristan pointed to a seat across from him.

Joey sat down. Looking at his lunch, he took a deep breath. "Yeah, hmm. Well it's like this. The shadow realm affected me differently that you or Tea. Now I've been having dreams for a bit. They aren't good. And they are concentrated around Seto. So now Yami is helping me figure out who wants to hurt him and why. Last night I slept at his house cause Yami wanted to know what would happen if I was closer physically to him. And I gave the notes to Yugi. Hey did Seto give you his?"

"Physically _closer_ , eh?" Tristan demanded.

"No, Yami wants to get it from him later. Anything else happen last night?" Yugi piped up.

"What are you insinuating ya jerk?!" Joey pushed Tristan out of his seat. "Nah, nothing much." Joey hummed as Yugi read the story. Suddenly a flash of light appeared and Yami was sitting there.

"Hmmmm."

Joey shrugged and started humming.

Yami's head jerked up, "What is that your humming, Joey?"

"Hmm, nothing much. Seto was singing it this morning."

"Do you remember the words?" Yami laid the notebook down.

"Yeah a bit... ahhh, 'Come and kiss me when I die, for life, something life, is in the breath. And when kissed, though in the grave I lie, I will arise and break the bands of death.' Something like that."

"I see... I need to talk to Kaiba alone, later." Yami stated.

"Hey Joey, why do you keep calling Kaiba 'Seto'? Are you two _that_ close?" Tristan asked mockingly.

"Why you...!" Joey leaned over and grabbed Tristan by his shirt.

"Would it be any of your business if he was?" A cool voice cut it's way through Joey's retort.

 

===============================

 

Kaiba stared around the outside eating arena, trying not to shudder. He wanted to ask Yami about something that had happened last night. Also what would be affected by this other life intruding into this one. He had priorities and this interfered with them. Spotting Yugi sitting in the corner with Wheeler and Taylor, he resigned himself to being outside and walked over to them.

"Hey Joey, why do you keep calling Kaiba 'Seto'? Are you two _that_ close?" Taylor asked invasively.

"Why you...!" Wheeler, angry with the not so subtle innuendo that even he could get, reached over and grabbed Taylor by the shirt.

"Would it be any of your business if he was?" Seto replied, his ice-hardened voice cutting through the dispute. "Of course, even if by any means it was, I still don't believe you would understand the explanation, Taylor."

"Seto!" Wheeler smiled up at him. "Stop that. Tris is a friend. He's... watching out for me, like a good friend does."

"He's still not your father, I don't see how it's any of his business."

"He's a friend. He's worries about me. Sorta like how Yami and I worry about you." Joey pointed out. Reaching up he tugged on Kaiba's jacket sleeve. "Now sit down and stop looming over everybody."

Kaiba sat down, opening his briefcase; he pulls out a printed report. Silently he hands it to Yami.

Yami smiled fondly, "This is just a dream journal, not a school report. You didn't have to print it out, but thank you."

"That's Kai-School Report! Joey, did you print out the report due for History today?" Taylor stood up quickly, grabbing his tray.

"It's not due today. It's due in two days. Don't worry about it." Wheeler turned to face Kaiba, "Right?"

Kaiba stared at him.

"Right?" Wheeler asked again.

"No, it's due today."

"No! Tristan, what are ya waiting around for? We gotta print out our report! Move!" Wheeler jumped up and ran off, leaving his lunch behind.

Yami chuckled, "I'm glad my Hikari does his work on time. Unlike those two."

"The idea of Wheeler actually doing his work when assigned doesn't seem possible." Seto smiled slightly.

"Maybe... So how long have you had the dreams, Kaiba?"

"What dreams? Unlike that boy, my mind doesn't stray off into the realm of fancy."

"The dreams of your past life or lives. Today, Joey came upon you singing something, a song I'm quite sure he's never heard before. Then I had an opportunity to look over his dream journal." Yami reached down and pulled out the notebook. Flipping to the last page, he tapped a drawing of a scroll, the scroll had hieroglyphs marching in ordered lines. Around the edges of the scroll were illuminated designs. At the bottom, a small scale was drawn, almost hidden among the other drawings. "Joey told me what you were singing, imagine my surprise when it's this. That is a song, written by Seferet for his beloved. The entire thing is rather romantic but since that time, no one knows it. You were singing it. You've been having dreams.

"Now I understand that they may be... _personal_ , especially considering your _relationship_ with Joey in that past time, but I need to know _all_ the details of the dreams. As for the details of your relationship... you **never** kept such a thing a secret from me, Sef. I always helped you, even when... perhaps that's why you feel the need to insult Joey? Because you don't to admit your feelings for him, then or now. Glad to see you haven't changed too much. You always were like that, brother." Yami stood and picked up the dream journal as well as Seto's journal and headed towards Yugi's next class.

Kaiba stared after him, his face twisted with rage.

 

===============================

 

Tristan leaned against the wall as the printer spit out nicely typed sheets of paper. "So... you're dreaming about Kaiba, huh?"

"Yeah... that's why I had to ask Yami for help." Joey muttered, slamming his hand on the monitor. "Damn machine, just give me my paper!"

"Don't hit it, they don't like that." Tristan reached out and brushed Joey's hand away.

"They aren't alive, Tristan." Joey pointed out.

"Really, they act like it. But yeah, I can see how having to dream about that bastard would tick you off. Hell, I'd beg Yami to get that ass Kaiba out of my mind." Tristan leaned over and started Joey's paper printing

Joey looked up at Tristan. "He's not that bad. He loves his brother, really devoted. And he has a nice singing voice, he's handsome."

"I knew it, you're gone on him! I can see it in your eyes! You know what kind of person he is!" Tristan whispered harshly. "He calls you names, he harasses you and you still like him. He doesn't know how to be a friend, he can't love, and he'll never love anyone as much as himself. Do you honestly think that he would be honest with you? He'd probably keep you as some dirty little secret or beat you. You get enough of that at home. Don't even think about him. Help Yami and run away from _Kaiba_ as fast as you can! He’s poison."

"Tristan, you're my friend and that means something. You worry about me and you support me but you are wrong about Seto. In my dreams, not just this one but others and he loved me. That means he's capable of being at the very least my friend now. He's capable of caring, look at Mokuba. And I don't know if I... if I care about him that way. We'll find out. If you're gonna fly off like this, well I just will keep you out of it but I _know_ there's a good and wonderful guy in him. And I'm gonna bring it out. At the very least, he's gonna be my friend, and friends don't abandon each other. You taught me that." Joey stood up, collecting his report. Nodding at his friend, he walked out.

Outside the library he stood for a moment. Noticing that they still had ten minutes, Joey turned and headed for the cafeteria.

 

===============================

 

Kaiba stared at the board at the front of the room, a low growling coming from his chest. _How dare that... that... **parasitic** ghost tell me that I... care for the damned dog. And I refuse to believe that he and I could ever have been related. That's repugnant. If I had a brother, it would have been Mokuba. Damn him!_

Kaiba reached down and picked up his laptop case, opening it, he set up his laptop on his desk. In a few seconds, he was hard at work reviewing several proposals. Frowning, he didn't hear the teacher call his name. Suddenly the screen of his laptop went down until it locked.

"Yes?"

"Kaiba, is this class disrupting your day?" The teacher asked facetiously, one hand pressed on top of the laptop.

"Actually, yes." Kaiba attempted to lift the screen.

"Well too bad!" The teacher replied flatly. "This is my class, pay attention."

Kaiba stood up and picked up his briefcase, slipping his laptop back in its case. "No. You see this place doesn't do a thing for me. There is nothing you can teach me that I haven't already learned. There is nothing to do. Your lectures are uninspired and insipid. Now, I have better things to do. Goodbye."

Kaiba walked out, noticing Joey staring at him.

 

===============================

 

Joey walked down the hallway, darting his eyes around the hall. He really didn't want to see Yugi, Yami, or Tristan right now. Seeing Tristan down the hall, Joey ducked into an empty room. Glancing around, he headed to the window. Making sure his backpack was on tight, he climbed out the window and dropped down. Landing in a crouch, he stood and stretched.

"Even knowing how much you undoubtedly hate school, I see no reason for you to have to climb out through the windows. They haven't started chaining the doors... yet." An amused icy voice said.

Joey whirled around. "Seto! No need to be scaring me like that!"

Seto frowned at Joey from the bench he was sitting on a few feet away. "So why are you climbing out windows. School, I believe, is over."

"Yeah, I'm trying not to run into Yugi or Tristan." Joey walked over to the bench and sat down.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I know Yugi wants to talk to me but eh... So what happened?" Joey asked, moving his backpack from his back. Walking over, he sat down.

"What what happened?" Seto turned back to his laptop, which lay in his lap.

"You walked out of class."

"Yes. I did."

"Why? What did Yami say to you that ups... disturbed you?" Joey asked, watching Seto.

Seto froze for a second then resumed typing. "Why do you think he upset me?"

"Cause after I printed out my report, I headed back to the cafeteria. I saw you leave. You looked furiously cold. Then in class, you lost your temper. You don't lose your temper; you get even. You don't blaze like fire; you get cold as ice. You walked away from a fight; you didn't win it. That's not you."

"And you know me so well, _pup_?" Seto asked, twitching his lips slightly.

Joey sighed. "Sort of... It's like I've been in your head for weeks, months almost. But why didn't you just leave, why sit here for the past couple hours?"

"Because being disrespectful to a teacher and walking out of class are only worth four days of detention put together. Walking off school grounds is worth at the least a two week suspension."

"Ahh... and?"

"And what?"

"Well you don't care if you miss two weeks of school so why else didn't you leave?"

Seto smirked and turned towards Joey. "Because they expect me to leave the campus but I didn't. They didn't even look for me. So when they try to tell me I'm suspended for two weeks, I can point I never left the campus."

"Now there's the sneaky bastard I knew was in there! Good. So... what did Yami say to you?"

"Persistant."

"Yeah, it's one of my better quantities."

Seto muffled a laugh. "Qualities, one of your better qualities."

"See, you do like me." Joey smiled, "You just gave me a compliment."

"I was correcting your horrible word choice." Seto pointed out, one eyebrow rising.

"Uh huh. So give!"

"What makes you think that I want to tell you?" Seto pointed out, closing his laptop.

"Didn't say you did. I think you need to. You don't have very many people who are close to you. Mokuba and that's all I've see. We were friends and sometimes more lives ago. That's something. You don't forget friends, you don't leave them, you don't ignore them, and you always try to help them. Even when they get stubborn and say they can do everything on their own. You were good to me then; I'm going to be good to you now. If all we remain is friends, then I'll do my best to be one of your best friends." Joey stretched out, turning to face Seto, smiling.

"You are one strange pup. Let's make a deal. You tell me why you are avoiding Yugi and Tristan and I'll tell you what Yami said." Seto replied, raising one knee to his chin, and resting his chin.

Joey stared at Seto. "How about you go first?"

"Why are you avoiding your friends?"

Joey sighed ruefully from being tricked. "When me and Tristan went to print out our reports, he said something that pissed me off. Knowing Yugi, he managed to find out what. Now he probably wants me and Tristan to make up. And we will. _Later_. Sometimes things get said and they can't be patched over immediately. Yugi thinks if something gets broke he has to fix it _that second,_ if it's not then it'll never be fixed."

"Of course it must be. Every second something is broken is another when it's not useful." Seto blinked owlishly.

Joey stared at him. "Feelings aren't like machines, Seto. Tristan hurt mine, if I talked to him now, we'd yell. We'd yell and scream and make it worse. Right now that best thing is not to see each other. Let our feelings be 'broken'. Once we get past being angry with each other, we'll be generous again. We'll wonder how we hurt each other. That’s the time to talk."

"Oh." Seto shook his head.

"Yeah, I don't usually talk like this but hey... you want friends and for some reason, I've been tapped to teach ya. Any other time, I'd hit ya and ask if you're dumb or what but..." Joey shrugged. "You can't do that if you wanna teach someone, now can ya?"

"No, you can't." Seto smiled.

"So what did Yami say?"

A set of piercing shrieks came from Seto's wrist. "Ahh the meeting, come." Seto beckoned Joey, handing him the laptop. Seto picked up his bag and Joey's and headed across the main yard.

"Meeting? What meeting?"

"I have a meeting with my investors about a new project. Not that I couldn't fund the project myself eventually however the best time for the project to debut would be in under a year and a half but if I have to fund it myself, it will take more time." Seto walked over to a limo waiting for him and opened the door. "In, inu."

Joey shook his head and started to get into the car.

" **Kaiba**! Hold it right there!"

Seto and Joey turned towards the voice. Their History teacher strode over towards them followed by the principal.

Huffing and puffing the principal stopped in front of them. "Mr. Kaiba, I understand that you left school earlier after a confrontation in class with Mr. Takashi."

"I did not." Seto nodded to Joey. "We had a confrontation and I left class but I under no circumstances left the grounds. I have been sitting on that bench for the past three hours. I have spent the last forty-five minutes talking to Joseph. Now I have a meeting to get to."

"I see... I can't let you get away with disrespecting teachers and walking out of class. We have to arrange a week's detention for you. Yes, I know that more than the regulations advise but you of all people, Kaiba, know better." The principal shook his head.

"True. Very well, I'll clear an hour and half after school everyday for a week." Seto nodded.

"Thank you, I don’t want to hold you up. You do have other obligations."

"Yes. Goodbye." Seto poked Joey until he got in, then Seto slid in, closing the door. As they pulled away Seto looked at the teacher smirking.

"Great... you love this, doncha?"

"Of course, I love besting any opponent. It's what business is all about." Seto smirked evilly.

"I see... so what did Yami say that upset ya?"

"You're a persistent pup. He said he knew, not suspected but knew, that I am having the dreams as well. Not only that I'm having them but what kind. Then he intimated that my position in my former life was simply because I was related to him."

"I see... well one, could be the pharaoh but didn't they use the pharaoh's brothers and sisters as priests, generals, and governors? If I remember right, most people got some education but not enough to be really high rank. Maybe that's what he meant. I can't see you relying on anyone else to succeed!"

Seto smiled at Joey. "Thank you. So what did Tristan say?"

"Ehh... nothing to worry about."

"Except that you two are now fighting."

"Aww Seto, I didn't know you cared!" Joey leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

"INU." Seto reached over and opened his laptop.

_Do you honestly think that he would be honest with you? He'd probably keep you as some dirty little secret or beat you. You get enough of that at home. Don't even think about him. Help Yami and run away from **Kaiba** as fast as you can! _Joey remembered Tristan’s words.

A few minutes later Joey opened his eyes, turning to face Seto. "He said that you know how to be a friend, you can't love, and you will never love anyone as much as yourself. He said that if we ever did something..." Joey blushed and turned away. He continued, his voice flat, "as more than friends, you would abuse me, be ashamed of me, and treat me like dirt. I should just help you and leave you, never talk to you again." Seto stopped typing, his face pale. His eyes opened wide, the luminous blue staring starkly out of his face. For the first time, he looked so very young, until a darkness shuttered the cerulean sight of his eyes, the limo grew colder.

"I told him _no_ , Seto. If you don't know how to be a friend, then I gotta teach ya. If we become more, that's up to us. You have the... strength, the sheer will to do anything you want. To get anything or _anyone_ you want. I know there's a great guy in you, I've seen him. And maybe you can meet him too." Joey turned slightly, closing his eyes and leaning against the side of the limo.

Slowly his breath evened out. Seto closed his laptop, his mind whirling as the car continued on it way. Once they reached KaibaCorp headquarters, Seto stretched and pulled out a sheet of paper, scribbling a short note on it, he left it on Joey's chest and opened the door by Joey's head. Brushing his hand over Joey's hair, he murmured, "Inu."

He had a meeting to do, and a project to develop.


	3. Chapter 3

Gin no Umi o Wataru 3

Shachou- president, as in the president of the company. And thanks to Rainy for Joey’s Egyptian name, Jahi.

 

 

Jahi opened his eyes and looked over at his beloved. Smiling cattily, he gently pressed against Sef’s shoulder. Sef obediently rolled over in his sleep. _Now who’s the dog?,_ Jahi thought. Reaching down, he pulled the sheet off slowly. His man was beautiful, long and tan with startling blue eyes, those very rare dark blue eyes. Eyes like the seas of home, eyes like the sky at dusk. Wiggling down, he lay his head on Sef’s thigh. Flicking his eyes up, he made sure Sef was still asleep. Carefully, he moved closer to his beloved’s rod; softly he blew a cool breath on it. Laughing at the twitching member, he blew on it again. Chuckling silently, he rose to his knees and straddled Sef’s legs. Moving a little further down, he leaned down, his eyes focused not on Sef’s nicely shaped cock but on Sef’s face. Jahi touched the tip with his tongue, with great patience Jahi flicked, licked, and lathed the tip of Sef’s penis. Seeing Sef grow and watching as Sef started to wake, Jahi posed.

Slowly Sef opened his eyes, noticing his lover, his mate, and his husband at the foot of the bed. Just as Jahi lunged forward and deep-throated Sef. Sef screamed with intense pleasure.

 

===============================

 

Mokuba stared out the window. _What is taking him so long, he always comes here after school._ Sighing, he got up and went to the counter, ordering a drink, he sat back down to wait. After fifteen minutes, he stood up and stretched. Turning towards the door, he noticed a distinctive red, yellow, and black hairdo.

"Yugi!" Mokuba called out.

"Mokuba, hey!," called Yugi back

"Hey, hello Tristan." Mokuba nodded to the other boy. "Where’s Joey?"

"We don’t know. We thought he would be here. What are you up to, Mokuba?" Yugi asked.

"Looking for Joey. I wanted to ask him something about the dreams."

"Dreams? What dreams, Mokuba?" Tristan asked.

"The ones he and my brother have. Seto doesn’t keep _anything_ from me. He told me this morning on the way to school. Not to mention, he spent last night over at our house."

"Oh? He didn’t mention that."

Mokuba smiled evilly. "Now that Joey's gonna be Nii-sama’s friend maybe he won’t be so grouchy."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Yugi asked frowning, his face a mask of confusion.

"Nii-sama been having dreams like this for years. And he talks in his sleep. Ever since he started going to Domino High, he’s been muttering about a puppy." Mokuba smirked.

Yugi’s eye twinkled and he bent over laughing.

"Joey..." Tristan shook his head.

"Yep! And he’s not dreaming about a dog, cause Nii-sama is allergic to dogs." Mokuba giggled.

Tristan watched as Yugi and Mokuba laughed until tears streamed from their eyes.

 

===============================

 

Cold.

Stiff.

Leather.

Joey cracked open one eye and rolled over. The resulting thud by made one teenaged boy falling onto a ‘not-quite-contoured-for-a-body’ car floor caused him to wake up. "Wha- Seto, car, meeting." Joey leaned back against the seat. Moaning, he rubbed his head. Slowly, he slid up onto the seat, hearing paper rustle. Leaning to one side, he pulled on a piece of paper that he was sitting on. Pulling it out, he read it.

 

__

"Inu,

I’m upstairs in my office. If you wake up before its time for me to leave, show this to the receptionist downstairs and they will make sure you get up here safely.

S. Kaiba."

 

What’s with the dog jokes?! Joey shook his head and opened the car door. Deciding to leave his backpack in the car, he stepped out gingerly. Yawning, he stretched. Gracefully bowing his back, reaching backwards until his hands brushed the back of his calves. Moaning deliciously, he straightened up. Slipping the note into his back pocket, he turned around looking. Seeing an elevator about fifteen feet away, he walked over. After pressing the button he waited. _Why did Seto bring me here? What is he up to?_ Sighing, Joey moved from foot to foot. Ducking into the elevator, he pushed the ‘L’ button. A few second later the door opened onto a huge lobby. Joey stepped out and stared at the place. The floor was a rich blue stone, veined with white. The desk in the center of the lobby was white, white with tiny gray flecks.

Joey looked up... straight up, and up, and up, and— _damn how high is this thing._ Gulping, Joey looked down at the nice stable floor before walking up to the desk. Seated at the desk was a very pretty young woman, she had a thick shock of crimson hair that fell in a flaming waterfall down her back. Her skin was a pale cream, so much so that she wouldn’t need the face paint to project the image of a geisha. When she looked up, Joey was stunned to see her eyes, her very un-Japanese-like eyes. They were the green of a lawn, of fresh grass, of a healthy vigorous plant. "Ummm, hey. I’m supposed to meet someone and show you this?" Joey pulled out the note and handed it to the young man at the desk.

The young woman smiled at him before looking at the note. Eyes widening, she turned to look at Joey. Picking up a slim gray phone, he pressed a button. Whispering into the phone, she hung up and looked back at Joey. "Someone will come to escort you to Shachou Kaiba immediately."

Joey nodded, laying his hands on top of the counter and leaned in, "Tell me, do you like working for Seto?"

"Yes, this is a good job, easy too." She replied, smiling. Her voice was low and rather deep for a woman.

"Hmmmm, does he growl at you a lot?" He asked

"Shachou Kaiba? I don’t see too much. Mostly I see Young Kaiba. He’s a delight, " she smiled sweetly.

"Yeah, Mokuba is fun. Wish Seto was more like him." Joey sighed.

"Well, the Shachou does run this place. We know it’s so Young Kaiba can be young."

"Yeah, but he young too and I’m gonna remind him of that, even if I gotta pound it inta him." Joey smiled viciously as he punched one hand into the other.

She laughed, "Don’t say that too loud around here. Shachou Kaiba may be a demanding person but we all respect him. He does right by all of us."

"Good! He’s my friend and getting him to relax, well that’s part of my..." Joey stated flatly.

A large man ghosted up to the desk. "Joey Wheeler."

Joey turned towards the guy and looked him up and down slowly. Turning back to the receptionist, he held out his hand. "Nice talking to you... umm what is your name?"

"Minamoto Shuiichi. You have a good day, Mr. Wheeler." He replied, shaking Joey's hand firmly.

Joey blushed and leaned over to whisper to Shuiichi before following the large man.,

"Sorry, but my Hiei wouldn’t like it." Shuiichi replied.

"Maybe with Hiei." Joey called back. Entering the elevator, he looked at the large guard. "So, do you like working for Seto?"

===============================

 

Yugi pushed back from the chipped plastic table and stretched. Looking at his watch, he called out to Mokuba. "It’s already after six, don’t you need to get home soon?"

"Yeah... first I have to go the office and get Seto. Otherwise he’ll work all night and go to school in the morning. He’ll keep it up until he collapses." Mokuba said.

"That’s not good. Poor Kaiba." Yugi sighed.

"Yeah right." Tristan snorted. Standing up, he grabbed his jacket. "Hey Mokuba, I can give you a ride over there on my bike if you want."

"Yeah, thanks Tristan. What about Yugi, though?" Mokuba pointed out.

"Oh don’t worry, we’re only three blocks from the shop. I’ll be fine. Yami will be with me." Yugi pointed out.

"OK. Have a good night, Yugi. Let’s go Mokuba." The three boys stood up and threw away their trash. Waving goodbye to Yugi, Tristan and Mokuba walked over to Tristan’s bike. Pulling a spare helmet from the saddle pack, he gave it to Mokuba. Sitting on the bike, he kicked up the kickstand. "Let’s get there without scrambling your brains."

"Ok!" Mokuba pulled on the helmet and climbed on.

Tristan pulled out. For a while Mokuba was quiet.

"Tristan? Why do you hate my brother?" He asked quietly

 

===============================

 

Five Years Ago

"Tris, behave. I told you I’d bring you to work but you’d have to behave. Do me a favor and take this to Ryujin down the hall?" His mother asked him.

"Sure Mom." A twelve year old Tristan Taylor nodded and started down the hall. He heard whispers all about him.

"--- I can’t believe it. Kaiba is dead. Th--- "

"---said that Seto kill---"

"You can’t mean? Impo---"

"---heard he’s cleaning house. He’s--"

"Fired? You but then---"

"I know. Yes, Tristan?" A man noticed the boy.

"Ryujin-sama, Mother asked me to bring you this file." Tristan held it up.

"Thank you, Tristan. You go back to your mother now, ok? She needs you."

"Yes Ryujin-sama." Tristan turned back and walked down the hall to his mother’s office quickly, ignoring everyone else.

"What? Kaiba-sama, I have never been disloyal to this company." Tristan could hear his mother saying.

"True" A young voice replied. "However, I question some of your proposed contracts. We will not be violate or even bending the treaty again. You followed without question, without thinking and I have no use for those who can’t think. Be gone by the end of the day." A young boy about Tristan’s age walked out, his sable brown hair was cut close to the scalp and he had the coldest blue eyes that Tristan had ever seen. Tristan feeling that this person was dangerous, back into an empty cubicle and out of sight. Once the boy had left, Tristan walked to his mother’s door and cracked it open. His mother sat at her desk, eyes full of tears. Tristan turned his head and looked at the boy with hatred.

 

===============================

 

"We have a history." Tristan replied.

 

===============================

 

Jahi sat on the bed, before him lay a sheaf of paper. Looking to his left, he selected one color. Taking off the top, he dipped the brush into the color. In a few seconds he had highlighted several parts of the illustration. He blew on it carefully before dusting it with a sprinkling of fine sand.

"That’s beautiful, Jahi. Is this to go with the children’s book?" Seferet sat down behind him.

__

Yes, Jahi turned and smiled at his husband. _I promised your sister, Adna a story and pictures to put on her wall. She loves the stories about magical gifts from the gods best._

"I know... she may follow me into the Temple. I think she would be a good priestess."

__

Perhaps, if we can have her working with children. I fear Adna will never truly grow up.

"I know... so, did you think about it?"

__

Yes, and I’d like to.

"Good. Tomorrow we will go check on orphans of suitable age and class, my love, my husband."

__

Thank you beloved

"Now... why don’t we..." Sef leaned over to suckle on Jahi’s neck. "play, my love."

Jahi laughed and turned over, opening his arms.

 

===============================

 

The elevator hummed as it continued up.

"Hey, how big is this place anyways?" Joey asked, looking at the huge security guard that was accompanying him.

The security guard looked down at the young man and considered what his bosses had told him about _this_ young man. "There are 49 floors in the building. Master Kaiba’s office is on the forty-first floor. The floor below him and the two above are empty. Floors 44-48 are auxiliary services including a restaurant, a few shops, and the senior management dormitories. The forty-ninth floor is an open floor. That means it consists on a floor and four walls but no roof. Actually it has a little bit of a roof. An overhang on all sides stretches out five feet. Master Kaiba also has a heli-pad on the side of the forty-second floor, so that he doesn’t have to go all the way up to the forty-ninth. Although only he and Young Master Mokuba have access to it. He and Master Kaiba also have a full suite with bathrooms, bedrooms, and a full kitchen on their floor. If necessary, they do not have to leave the immediate area. As well as it has it’s own generator and three-foot thick platinum doors can cut those three floors off from the entire building. This particular elevator will not stop at any of the four floors unless as you saw me earlier, the person has a special key card. There are stairs to the floor but you can't get in that way because again, you need special key card. None of us will let harm even get a glance at the Masters Kaiba."

"Wow. So his growls don’t have an affect on you?" Joey asked.

The guard’s mouth twitched and an eyebrow raised a little. "Well, as long as you promise not to tell him, we really don’t take any of his threats to heart. Yes, he could do them but we are his private guard. We work well together and he won’t jeopardize that. We rather like him." The guard smiled warmly.

"Good... I was afraid he was as bad with you as he’s with us." Joey replied as the elevator comes to a stop.

"Master Kaiba for some reason responds to you, Mr. Wheeler. Understand, if you hurt him..." The guard stated.

"I understand... but me and Seto... I’d... it’s strange but I couldn’t hurt him, something in me wouldn’t let me if I wanted to. I don’t want to. A month ago, I’d pull him from a lake if he was drowning, but I wouldn’t share my food with him. Now..." Joey raised one hand cupped and tipped it as if pouring something out. "I’m not as angry with him."

The guard nodded and led Joey from the elevator. The room they entered was a small box about ten feet by ten feet. In the corner opposite the wall, a young woman sat a desk. To her left was a solid oak door. Smiling, she stood. "You must be Joey Wheeler. Master Kaiba awaits you, he said for you to come in whenever you wish. Thank you, Suraku, I’ll take him from here."

"Sure thing, Ms. Mudaro. Mr. Wheeler." The guard nodded and turned back to the elevator.

 

===============================

 

Seto sat at his desk, flipping through a proposal to add three more levels to the Legendary Heroes VR game. Growling as he realized that this was the fifth time he read this page, he threw the proposal on the desk. _Damn this game and damn that... idiot. I finally had those dreams under control! Then he had to stir them up... Maybe Sef could afford to waste his time on his brat but I don’t have that! I would have dropped the mutt of home, except... he was sleeping... without dreams._ Seto’s face softened as he remembered Joey’s face as he slept. Turning around, he stared out the window, the city was painted with golds and reds as the sun set.

===============================

 

Sef watched as the sun set, coloring his lover with reds and golds. A shaft of red ran up the pale back getting lost in the tumble of sand gold hair, creating an imminently kissable path.. Sighing, he climbed on the bed and leaned down to kiss his lover’s back... "Jahi, beloved... wake up. Wakey... my heart’s joy." Sef pulled his lover up and onto his lap.

Jahi blinked sleepily and smiled sweetly at Sef, _I meant to stay awake for you... I wanted to surprise you._

"It is a surprise... you are the surprise."

__

This old thing... Jahi smiled.

"No this... beautiful man... my beautiful man." Sef leaned closer.

__

Yes! Jahi pushed back, rubbing against Sef. _I already oiled myself. Please don’t make me beg tonight. You’ve been gone for three weeks and as much as I miss talking to you, my body craves yours._

"You will be tight for me today... my love." Sef stretched over Jahi and tumbled the vial of scented oil into his hand.

__

Already used that love... and it felt so good. It reminded me of you, sweet and strong and delicious. Almost as good as you in me, then it’s been so long that I forgot what you feel like. Jahi reached up and wrapped his arms around Sef’s neck. _Kiss me ._

Sef chuckled and pressed Jahi onto the bed, "Mine!"

__

Yours, yours, yours, forever! Jahi demanded.

Sef stared at his lover’s eyes, as he placed his cock at Jahi’s entrance. Pressing in, he felt the welcome and long missed heat of his lover surround him. Jahi whimpered, clutching at Seferet.

"Mine!" Sef lunged forward, biting Jahi on the shoulder, as Jahi bucked under him.

__

Forever, no matter what life, no matter where, I am yours. I will always be yours.

===============================

 

Seto opened his eyes, moaning. The sun had almost set, barely above the buildings it would be gone in moments, and he was still sitting at his desk. Shaking his head to clear his mind, he picked up the proposal he had been reading and opened it. Placing his hand over his cloth covered cock, he started in surprise. Sighing in disgust, he stood up and went to a closet and pulled out a pair of pants. Changing quickly, he sat down at his computer. Frowning, he stared at a picture of Joey standing on a beach without his shirt.

__

Mine Forever, Jahi.

 

===============================

Ms. Mudaro stared at Joey for a second before calling out to the guard. "Suraku, will you please send someone to get Mr. Wheeler’s school books out of the car?"

"I will do it, Ms. Mudaro." He replied as the elevator door shut.

"Mr. Wheeler, please come with me," The woman walked over to the door and opened it wide. Waving Joey through, she led him down a warmly lit honey gold pecan wood paneled hallway. The wood panels sat in the center of the wall, running the length. Above it was a soft blue green with gentle veining of white. Below them, the wall was painted a rich vibrant live green and the carpet, thick and plush was a sweet light brown, like fresh tilled clay. Joey stared around the hallway. Catching up to Ms. Mudaro, he waited.

"Beyond this door is Master Kaiba. He most likely will not respond when you go in, so I’m just going to give you a few hints, all right. When you get hungry, dial 777 or hold the seven for 3 seconds on any phone in there and it will ring the restaurant. Dial 444 or hold the four for 3 seconds, and it will call me. 111, rings Mokuba's cell phone and 222 is the house."

"Thanks, ummm what time does Seto eat dinner?" Joey asked.

"Whenever it is ordered. Our Master rarely pays attention to his body’s needs. That is what _we_ are here for." She replied, making it clear that Joey was included in her ‘we’.

"True."

She opened the door at the end of the hallway. She gestured for Joey to enter. Nodding to Joey, she closed the door after him.

Joey walked in. The room wasn’t as large as he thought it would be. The floor was the same kind of stone as the lobby but this time in a red and blue checkerboard pattern. Each square was outlined by a golden metal. On the other side of the room next to a window, Seto sat behind a desk. The desk was metallic and harsh, a glare from the lights made Joey's eyes water until he turned to look at Seto. The setting sun framed Seto’s face as he read a file. The red shining on his hair, the few gold stray beams brushed through the thin hair on his cheeks. Joey took a deep breath before stepping forward.

"You finally woke up." Seto's voice floated across the room

"Huh, yeah, sorry about that. So what’cha reading?" Joey started walking over to the desk.

"A reworking of the Legendary Hero’s VR game. We’re going to make it more complex. Did you sleep well?"

"No dreams if that’s wha... hey I didn’t have any dreams. Maybe since I’m with you, the dreams will calm down?" Joey said, walking over to the desk.

"Perhaps, but if so then I’ll have to send you home." Seto pointed out, flipping a sheet over.

"Why? Don’t you like... me... staying over?" Joey jumped up on the desk.

Seto reached out and artlessy ran his fingers over Joey's hip, back to front to back to front. Looking at his file, he shoved Joey off. "No dogs allowed on the furniture." He replied smirking.

Joey turned and growled. "I thought you weren’t gonna call me a dog anymore."

"If you’re gonna growl, then I can call you a puppy, _pup._ " Seto turned a page.

"Why’d the hell did you bring me here... to insult me?!" Joey rolled his eyes.

Seto looked up, "Because."

"Look, maybe I should get home." Joey said, turning.

"Why? Will he notice if you don’t come home?" Seto asked, his voice cutting.

Joey froze, _What the hell does he mean?_

"For some perverse reason, your life and mine are... connected. You’re getting warnings about me. Warnings it seems that I need. If you die before we end this threat then most likely I will too, and that will leave my brother all alone. So it seems to me that it’s in my best interest to make sure you survive. Before I couldn’t care less what your father did to you, now that it involves my brother, I have to make sure you are safe. You are not safe at home with your father, Joseph. He’s a drunk, that place is barely livable, and it doesn’t seem to be getting better." Seto opened a drawer pulling out a green file folder. Tossing it down, it slid over tot he other side of the desk.

"I can’t leave him, Seto. He’s not much of a dad but he is my dad. I gotta take care of him." Joey sighed, "Besides, you can’t keep me if I don’t want to stay."

"No... I could call child services and report him, then step forward as a concerned classmate who will generously open my home to you. It would be good PR." Seto placed the file down and leaned back in his chair.

Joey stared at Kaiba. Leaning over the desk, his voice hot with rage, "If you did, I’d hate you. Worse, you can’t force me to tell you about my dreams. You don’t own me. Do _not_ ever try to extort me again; I don’t threaten Mokuba, you leave off my father."

"Okay, you do know that no one will ever employ a drunk like him. Stay at the house until we solve this mystery and answer one question of my choice everyday you are there; and not only will I pay for his rehabilitation program but I’ll find him a job." Seto offered. _I do own you, you belong to me, you always have! Then and now, you’re mine._

Joey closed his eyes, his voice tired, "I reserve the right to not answer a question."

"No, any one question I want. You can refuse to answer two questions during your entire stay." Seto offered, a gleam entering his eyes.

"Okay, deal."

"First question: Why do you stay with your father? It’s obvious that he doesn’t care about you, so why do you still care? You would be better off to get away from him."

"He’s my only family that I get to see... would you ever give up on Mokuba? When he had a steady job, he was a good man. He always had time for me. Then he lost his job when I was about twelve. Things went downhill from there. Couple years ago, I realized, I’m all he got left. So I take care of him now. Maybe one day he’ll straighten out and it will be like before but until then, he’s mine. Much like Mokuba's yours."

Seto nodded and stood. Walking past Joey, he waved for Joey to follow. Striding over to the wall, Seto pushed back an inset panel. Reaching in, he pulled out Joey's bookbag. "It’s a dumbwaiter. It allows them to send me things without coming in." Handing the book bag to Joey he headed to the next room. He pointed to a computer. "Finish your homework. You can sign onto the net with name ‘Kaibaspuppy’ the password is ‘wheeler’."

Joey growled and shoved Seto from behind. "ENOUGH! Enough with the dog jokes. I should have included that in the deal. What is your fascination with insultin’ and humiliatin’ me? Do you get off on it?" He questioned sarcastically. He’d had it with Seto’s dog jokes.

Seto stumbled forward and turned back towards the young man. "No... but it does suit you. Sometimes your eyes are green, sometimes they are brown, sometimes they are a mix between the two. When they are brown and you look through your bangs, you have the look of a St. Bernard. Absolutely loyal and trusting. Even if they were to hit you, you’d look the same..." Seto replied curiously.

Joey watched Seto's face fall, "Except I wouldn’t let someone hit me, Sef... Let’s make a deal. You can call me puppy, but only in private." Insisted Joey?

"No." Seto refused.

"Why?" Joey demanded.

"I don’t have to explain anything to you." Seto spun around.

"You can’t own... but you can ask me out. Maybe I’ll say yes... maybe I won’t. Maybe I should ask that fox downstairs for a date. The redheaded one in the lobby. Maybe he and his Hiei would like a date with _me_?"

Seto clenched his hands in anger and whirled around to face Joey. Pressing him back until Joey hit the wall, Seto leaned forward, kissing him deeply. His lips caressed and played and tasted Joey, a burst of spice. His tongue flickered against Joey's lips, demanding entrance. Wrapping one arm around Joey's waist, he tugged Joey's hips closer. "No."

Seto let Joey go and walked out. 


	4. Chapter 4

Gin no Umi o Wataru 4

****

WARNING: Graphic depiction of Child Abuse in this chapter

 

Shloonik– How are you doing?

 

Friday March 16, 2004

The Daily Yomiuri

****

A Whole new game in town?

Today, Mr. Pegasus, formerly of Industrial Illusion Inc. (III), announced a new joint company. Mr. Asheworth of North Ocean Avionics and Mr. Pegasus are the primary shareholders of the new game company, Star Sailors Incorporated. Mr. Asheworth is well known in England for his shrewd business sense and for being one of the youngest and wealthiest young men in the world. He was born in Japan and orphaned at an early age, later he was adopted by Mr. Noel Asheworth. Raised in England, he was not a very healthy child. Forced by circumstances to stay in bed, his father made sure he had a busy hand in the business to keep his mind active. Unfortunately his father was killed about 4 years ago by a crazed ex-employee. Nowadays, Mr. Asheworth spends his time running his business, playing with friends, and of course, what every 16 year old young man does, collecting Duel Monsters Cards. 

When asked how he felt at working with the creator of Duel Monsters, he replied, "It’s wonderful. Mr. Pegasus is a consummate professional and his advice is invaluable. I’m pleased that he’s agreed to work with me on our new venture. After all, who better to help build a new game company, than Pegasus himself."

A stunning declaration of intent from the young billionaire. When we talked to Mr. Pegasus about if he knew why Mr. Asheworth wanted to move into gaming, since his company is an avionics firms, Mr. Pegasus had this to say, "Well, I approached him after a smart fellow showed me his simulator game that he uses to help train his pilots. The graphics are crisp and fresh. Quite charming and lifelike. Lately, he’s been building a graphics and programming department worth rivaling any game company, so I just had to talk to him about a... partnership. Charming young man, very... sweet. 

"He showed me the program and we talked. He already has the people, I have the skill. Better watch out Kaiby-boy."

A direct comment to Kaiba Seto, the owner and CEO of Kaiba Corp. There very well may be a war game going on, and this time we can’t just press reset.

* * *

Mokuba waved as Tristan roared away. Taking a deep breath and looking around he spotted a young man, just about his height with wild black hair that had a star on it.

"Hey, Hiei!" Mokuba strode over to the young man, smiling.

"Hn... Mokuba. Let me guess, Kaiba is still working?"

"Of course he is, and you’re here to pick up Minamoto-san. "

"Hn."

"Then why are you out here, they won’t kick you out." Mokuba reached out and took hold of Hiei’s arm. Tugging him slightly, he lead Hiei inside and up to the lobby desk. "Minamoto-san, I’ve found something of yours."

Shuiichi looked up and smiled. "Hiei, I’m almost done, just need to pack up. Mokuba, your brother is upstairs."

"Cool... Later Minamoto-san."

"Oh," Shuiichi called after him, "his friend Wheeler-san is up there too." Minamoto smiled.

"Joey!" Mokuba turned back, "Thanks!"

Minamoto smiled at the boy as he ran off. Quickly packing his few things into a satchel, he stepped out from behind the desk. "I’m ready, koi. Let’s go."

"Hn. Bout time, fox." Hiei took the satchel and led the way out the build with Minamoto chuckling behind him. Ducking into an alley, Shuiichi Minamoto changed forms. Soon two streaks appeared flashing over the rooftops of Domino on their way home to Tokyo.

* * *

Yami paced impatiently in his soul room. Back and forth, back in forth. Yugi looking in from the door, shook his head amusedly. "Yami... Ji-chan’s home."

Yami’s head snapped up. Walking over to Yugi he raised one hand and brushed a thumb over Yugi’s cheek. "Thank you, Aibou. May I?"

Yugi nodded, leaning forward.

Yami smiled and kissed Yugi slowly. "Sweet." Then Yami walked past and opened his eyes. Getting up from the bed, he walked downstairs to look for Ji-chan. "Suguroku-san? Suguroku-san?"

Ji-chan popped up from behind the counter. "Yami, I told you to call me Ji-chan."

"Yes, Su- Ji-chan. Ji-chan, may I call Egypt tonight? It concerns the Millennium Items."

"Of course you may, Yami. Perhaps we might send you and Yugi to Egypt this summer." Ji-chan smiled and waved towards the stairs.

"I think he’d like that Ji-chan. Is there anything you need help with?"

"No... you go call your friends." Ji-chan waved at him again.

"Thank you!" Yami called as he ran upstairs. Going into Yugi’s room, he picked up the purple cat telephone and dialed a number he knew by memory. Jittering, he waited while it rang.

"Hello?" Shadi’s voice drifted out.

"Shloonik el khir, Shadi?" Yami asked.

"I am fine, My Pharaoh, and you if I may ask?"

"I and my Hikari are fine. However... something important may be happening, I believe we need your particular help."

"Of course, My Pharaoh. What do you need?"

"Everyday, I remember more of my life but still a lot is not open to me. First I need you to answer some questions, as to whether what I remember is true or false."

"Ok."

"I had a brother." 

"Yes, many. Great Pharaoh."

"He was my High Priest."

"That is so."

"His name was Seferet."

Shadi sighed with relief, "Yes, that was his name."

"We were close even though later we fought, we were good friends."

"Yes, even after he went to the temple, you were friends. His opposition to you resulted from his belief that you were doing harm to the religion, but he never hated _you_ , Great Pharaoh."

"He had a lover, one he married, called Jahi." Yami stated.

"Yes."

"What happened afterwards... after I..."

"After you disappeared, he collected all the items and hid them. Afraid that your other brothers and sisters would fall prey to them. Years later, a madman demanded that he hand over the Millennium Items. He refused. The madman kidnapped Jahi. He would have given the Items up, if Jahi had not told him not to. Both Seferet and Jahi were killed. I am sorry, My Pharaoh."

Yami closed his eyes, tears fluttering on his lashes. "Does it record who killed them?

"I do not believe so, though I will promise to look."

"Seferet possessed the Millennium Scales, did he not?"

"Yes, My Lord. As High Priest, the souls of the Royal Family were under his dominion. Therefore he received the golden scales. Since he was your brother, he received the Millennium Scales."

"I see, Shadi, one of my friends is having dreams about my High Priest, he was the lover of my High Priest..."

"Ah, yes, Joey Wheeler. We had ho—"

"You knew?!" Yami burst out.

"Yes, My Pharaoh. We had hopes that he would lead us to the reincarnation of your brother. Has he done so?"

"Yes, my Devious Shade, he has. Seferet is Seto Kaiba. Joey has been having several dreams, they take place not only in the time of the pharaoh but also in other times. Each time he dreamt, Seto’s current incarnation crumbled, dissolved, or in some way disappeared. Once he acknowledged that a message was seeking to come through, the dream fixed on that time and changed. However, I still do not know who seeks to harm them but I had hopes that if they are back, perhaps it was the same person as before."

Shadi ‘hmm’ed, "That would help, my Pharaoh. I shall see what we have on this person."

"Next question, do you still have the Scales in your possession?"

"In the possession of my people, yes. But now I must tell you of something that is happening with the Scales, my Pharaoh. Recently, no more than a month ago, they began to hum. At first, I was not sure what I was hearing. When I went into Cairo, I did not hear the hum, yet the closer I got to home... The hum picked up. At first, I believed that it was just something wrong with me but the hum grew as approached the Scales. I have separated them for now. I do not believe the owner of the Scales, Kaiba, is ready for them yet. Soon though... very soon."

"I see... Shadi, one more thing... the Items, were they all given to royal children?"

"Yes."

"Bakura and Pegasus are my brothers?!" Yami laughed delighted.

Shadi chuckled, "Well Bakura is. Your father loved many women, but he didn’t keep them all. It was understandable that he didn’t like you or your family. He was only one day younger than you."

"And father never legitimized him?"

"No, Pharaoh, and because his mother was a widow whose husband had died years before, because she could not prove who the father of her child was, she was reviled and thought a whore. Her reputation suffered, she lost her business, her money, and eventually begged. Once she died, after telling him who his father was, he went robbing from the tombs. After all, they owed him or so he saw. Soon after his mother died, he received one present from his ‘father’, the Millennium Ring. Your father also sent one more thing to him, a threat... If he should try to claim his place before your shared father died, he would be killed." Shadi explained dryly.

"I see... and Pegasus?"

"He is not the true owner of the Eye. I could see his future, we gave him the Eye so that he could use it to bring all of you together. He would have then died and the true owner would have taken the Eye. Except..."

"Except Bakura got greedy and took the Eye."

"Yes, and once he gave it to you, you gave it to me. I returned it to Pegasus who has now given or will soon give it the true owner."

"Who is the true owner?"

"A young man about Yugi’s age, my Pharaoh. His owning the Eye makes it hard for me to see him."

"I see. We shall look out for him, Shadi. If you possess the Key, then that means you too were my brother, yes?"

"Yes, Great Pharaoh."

"Then drop the honorifics, call me ‘Yami’ ok?"

"Yes, Ph- Yami."

"Thank you, Shadi."

"I promise that tonight, we shall search for anyone who may be a threat to Jahi or your brother."

"Our brother, tell me Shadi, back then what was your position?"

"I was your official Historian and keeper of the Sacred Treasures and Secrets, my brother and I enjoyed my job."

"I see. Thank you for your help."

"My pleasure, Yami. Good night."

"Night." Yami hung up the phone and lay back on Yugi’s bed. Closing his eyes, he appeared in his soul room to Yugi’s great delight. Catching the young man who jumped him, he swung Yugi around before leaning forward to kiss him. "You heard?"

"Yes, can you imagine how Bakura will react to find out he’s your brother?" Yugi laughed.

Yami chuckled. "Better yet, how will Kaiba react to find out he’s related to Bakura?"

Yugi looked up at Yami with wide eyes and started laughing. Soon the tears of laughter changed into the moans of pleasure.

* * *

Isis stared at her brother, hopping on one foot, a grimace on his face. Sighing, she walked over to him. "How’s your foot?"

"Fine!" Looking up at his sister, Malik took a deep breath. "It’s fine, sister. I guess I’m just a little... off today."

Isis squatted and picked up the box. "Brother... how are your dreams lately?"

"Disturbed, as you probably know. The Items?"

"Yes, but the only unclaimed Items are the Eye and the Scales." Malik shook his head to clear it before taking the box from his sister. "When I last asked Shadi about them, he said the Eye was on its way to the proper owner. That means the Scales are the only Item left. Could the owner of the Scales have appeared?"

"Seto Kaiba is the High Priest but we’ve known that, what could have changed?" Isis opened another box, checking the artifact within.

"Maybe... he’s ready for it now?" Rashid asked from by the door.

"Rashid!" Malik jumped and turned towards the door, licking his lips, "You spooked me, you move like a cat. And you’re probably right."

Rashid smiled and took the box from him, "You didn’t say you weren’t sleeping."

"I didn’t want you to worry," Malik pointed him towards the table, "put it down there. Besides... I didn’t want to bother you."

Isis smiled slightly at her innocent brother, "Thank you, Rashid. You always did stay up with him when he had nightmares, but these are different. They are more memories."

"They still disturb his rest. Malik, if you need..." Rashid reached out, gently brushing a hand over Malik’s.

A twinkle in his eyes warned Rashid a second before that familiar bright light flashed and Marik, smirking saucily with a glowing third eye, stood before him. "Well, _sister_ , perhaps Rashid wouldn’t mind staying up with us tonight?"

Rashid shook his head, amused and picked up another box. He could never get over how different those two were. Marik acting like a prince while Malik, his gentle love, was so delicate. "I would have no trouble with that, Master Marik." 

"Good." Isis nodded and dusted off her hands. "Can you two finish unpacking these? I need to make a call."

"Yes, Miss Isis." Rashid replied.

Marik nodded his head and turn towards another box.

Isis smiled and headed to her office. Behind her, she could hear Marik.

"Put that down... I need your _help_ over here."

* * *

Seto leaned back in his chair, taking his reading glasses off. Rubbing the bridge of his nose to release the tension, he stretched. A clatter on the floor announced that he had once again not put the glasses firmly on the desk and worse had let them fall to the floor. Leaning down, he picked up the delicate seeming brushed steel frames. Smiling, he rubbed a finger over the earpieces. Rubbing the rich dark cobalt stripes on the side, he smiled, remembering when Mokuba had given them to him on his last birthday.

__

Nii-sama! Do you like them?

I love them.

Good, maybe your eyes won’t hurt so much at work.

With these, I know they won’t.

I love you, Nii-sama.

And I you, little brother.

Grinning, he looked up to see Joey in the other room, typing away. Bent over the keyboard, his caramel hair fell constantly into his face. Every so often Joey would drag a slim pale hand through his hair and grunt. A flush delicately mantled his cheeks, adding a drop of peach into his pale olive skin. He could feel his pants tighten as Joey bit his lip. The swelling in his pants, his hand falling unconcernedly into his lap, a slight rub. Breathing harshly, he looked up at the ceiling, seeing the "Kaiba" etched there. Suddenly, as if he was splashed with cold water, he froze. Gozabarou. 

A meeting with Gozabarou in this office, an excruciating meeting after an embarrassing report from the maid about the status of his sheets.

__

I don’t care who you fuck, as long as it has a pussy. At least until you get two kids. After that, you can sleep with anything as long as no one knows. I could care less if you fucked half the women in this city, but never shame our name. No STDs, No men, and No children... at least until you’re strong enough to squash those rumors. Now... take this. You’ll be marrying one of them, one day, when I choose. So you might as well read up on them.

Seto carefully placed the glasses on the desk and turned to face away from Joey. Slowly opening a drawer, he pulled out a small box. Opening it, he took out the small mallet. Deceptively heavy, he placed it on the inside of his forearm and started a series of progressively harder strikes.

* * *

Three Years Ago

Seto stood facing Gozabarou. Mokuba had already gone downstairs for a snack. Stiffening his back, Seto made sure he stood up straight. He stared at the clock over Gozabarous shoulders. 4:17.

"You failed. You foolishly entered a competition that you didn’t win. Did nothing I teach you sink in, child? As long as you carry the Kaiba name, you will bring only honor and distinction. If you can’t do that, then I’ll be forced to place you aside. Perhaps Mokuba will be more amenable." Gozabarou walked over to his desk, opening the top drawer, he pulled out small wooden box. 

Seto froze seeing that. Silently he walked over and placed his arm on the desk, his inner forearm turned up.

"This time, you will learn." Gozabarou pulled out a small metal mallet, each end being covered in felt. Leaning closer to Seto, he spoke in a steely voice, "This time, you will do it. You will strike. Hard. Rhythmically. Without pause. If you don’t, well, then your brother will. Understood?"

Seto nodded and picked up the hammer. Staring at his arm, he let the room he was in fade away.

"Faster."

Seto quickened.

"Harder."

Seto put more strength into the blows.

"Stop."

Seto stopped and looked up at Gozabarou."

"Go clean up and get the car ready."

Seto nodded. As he moved his arm, he could feel bone rubbing on bone. Silently he went outside to where Mokuba waited. Looking at the clock, he noted the time 6:09. Trying not to wince as Mokuba took his hand, he picked up the secretary’s phone and called for the car.

* * *

Joey looked up and noticed Seto sitting at his desk, the way the highlighted and caressed the planes on his cheeks, painting them with gold and rose. Joey flushed as he thought of the way Seto’s hair seemed to hide a hidden flame, trapping in it’s mahogany folds the light of the dying sun. Smiling, he stood up to walk over to him. A flash of reflected reddish sunlight hit his eyes, and he noticed a small metal mallet in Seto’s hand. 

Walking up to Seto, he noticed Seto’s eyes were glazed over, shiny with Seto’s retreat into his own mind. Recognizing a receding from reality, he waited for the mallet to begin it’s swing down and grabbed it. Yanking it out of Seto’s hand, he backed up.

Seto looked stunned at his empty hand. Raising his head, he brought himself back into focus, back to the office. Joey was still backing up.

"It’s not right, Seto. And it doesn’t really work."

"Give it back, pup." Seto demanded.

"No."

Seto growled and launched himself from behind the desk. Joey’s eyes widened and he ran. Seto chased him. Snarling he attempted to box Joey in and once or twice got close enough to grapple with him. A sudden attack caused Joey to fall backwards, still holding the mallet behind him. Pushing the mallet so it rested under the small of his back, Joey used both hands to push Seto off.

"Nii-sama? What are you doing?" Mokuba’s voice rang out.

Seto turned towards Mokuba and jumped up. "Ah—"

Joey looked up from the floor. "Nothing to worry about, kid. Just managed to get Seto to play. Who knew he could run so fast?" Joey stood up, slipping the mallet into his pocket as he dusted himself off. "Ehh, what time is it?"

"Almost 8:30, it’s time for Nii-sama to come home." Mokuba said.

Joey smirked, "What? He’s got a curfew?" Joey turned towards Seto, "You didn’t tell me you had a curfew. Let me get my stuff."

Seto rolled his eyes and stalked over to his desk, piling his work into his suitcase. His hand twitched as it passed over the small wooden box that had held the mallet.

"Joey... me, Tristan, and Yugi were waiting for you at the arcade. Were you here the whole time?" Mokuba asked as Joey headed for the other room.

"Hmmm, yeah. After school, we talked until Seto had to go to a meeting. I just came along. What did y’all need me for?" Joey turned off the computer and started putting his stuff in his bookbag.

"Well, Tristan wanted to talk to you, he said something about you two arguing."

"Unless it’s an apology, I don’t wanna hear it." Joey straightened up and led Mokuba out of the room. "Ready to go?"

Seto nodded and picked up the phone. Calling downstairs, he asked the driver to be waiting. Hanging up, he smiled at his little brother. "Tomorrow’s Saturday, are you going to visit anyone in the morning?"

Mokuba bounced over and took his brother’s briefcase. "Nope, I’m gonna just lay around and watch cartoons. Why?"

"I need to do something in the morning, but I’ll be at the theater at 2, promise. And Joey will be staying with us for a few weeks while his father goes out of town. Remember what I told you about the dreams? Well since Mr. Wheeler can’t take Joey with him anyways, we’re going to work on controlling the dreams." Seto opened the door and let them pass.

"You told him?" Joey looked at Mokuba.

"Of course he did, you did say that who or whatever is causing them might be dangerous to me. Seto would never let me walk into danger without warning me." Mokuba shook his head as they headed towards the elevator.

Seto turned towards Joey, "Have you warned Serenity?"

"No, I didn’t think someone would hurt him, but if they are like Marik they would. Damn! I gotta call her, maybe she can convince mom to go on vacation someplace."

Seto sighed, "We have a house on the slopes of Kita-Dake, pup. I’ll tell her to go there. Also, tell her that someone attacked you and you’re worried about her and Serenity. She’ll go, to protect Serenity."

The elevator gave a muted ding and opened its doors. "Thanks, Seto." 

"Not a problem, I’ll call them tonight. I’ll also make other arrangements." The door closed and descended to the underground parking lot. Speaking softly, the three young men headed home.

* * *

Tristan ducked as the bottle hit the wall. Watching the fall of shimmering glass, he tried to calm his breathing. _How the hell could Joey live like this, with this bastard!_

"Get out of here, you damned fuck! If you aren’t gonna bring in money, then you don’t eat! Go get a job! Ya leave here for two days—"

Tristan closed the door and leaned against the wall. "Damn, where are you, Joey?"

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

Gin no Umi o Wataru 5

SATURDAY

****

SATURDAY

 

Joey rolled over in that huge bed. Opening one bronze eye, he scanned the room for a clock. With a grunt he pushed himself up, stretching his arms until he could hear his back pop. Moaning and moving to the edge of the bed, he looked around blearily. Getting shakily to his feet, he shuffled over to the bathroom door and opened it. Using the toilet quickly, he turned towards the mirror and stared at himself. His hair stood up in three major spikes, his eyes looked as if they could have used a little more sleep. Dark folds lay under his eyes. Yawning again, he rubbed at his eyes and shuffled back into the bedroom. Lying on the bed, he drowsed. He pulled the sheet over his stomach and thighs so he wouldn’t get too cool or too hot.

A sharp knock sounded at the door.

"Comphin." Joey cleared his throat, not opening his eyes. "Come in."

The door opened and Seto stepped in. Seto froze as he saw Joey lying on the bed. Joey’s eyes were closed, his pale chest, lightly dusted with near invisible blond hairs, rose and fell softly, gently breaths blew across the sheets. Seto took a step in, licking his lips wondering how those pale café-colored nipples would taste, his eyes widened He watched as Joey’s chest rose, those titillating nipples hardening and relaxing. Joey slowed rolled his head to face the door and opened his eyes. Seto stared at those wonderfully enticing eyes, those shimmering bronze coins. He watched as Joey understood he was seeing Seto; he watched as Joey bit his lip and sat up, pulling the sheet up, before dropping it to pool in his lap. Seto shook himself and stepped forward, the clothes he was holding almost falling from his hands.

"I brought you some of my old clothes, I outgrew them before I had a chance to really wear them." Seto held them out.

Joey took them, his fingers brushing against Seto’s, "Thanks. I guess I should go home and get some clothes."

"I’ll pick them up when I go over there this morning."

"What time are we going?"

"Who said ‘we’, mutt? I’m going. You can stay here, visit friends, whatever but you aren’t going back to that place." Seto sat carefully on the bed, crossing his legs.

"He’s my _father_!" Joey twisted the sheet.

"No, he’s your sperm donor. A father doesn’t abandon his son, he doesn’t hit his son, and he doesn’t let his son go hungry." Seto stated, his voice flat. "Now, I’m about to leave. You can wear this and if anything is salvageable from your apartment, I’ll bring it back."

"You’re stubborn." Joey smirked.

"To deal with my pup, I have to be." Seto replied smiling.

Joey leaned forward, whispering; "Your pup I see. I’m not giving that thing back to you. If my dad is unhealthy for me, then that little... hammer is unhealthy for you. Besides, I get the feeling that I know what your dreams are like. Maybe one day you’ll show me." Joey leaned back.

Seto jumped up, "Breakfast is on the table in the dining room, it will be there until ten o’clock."

Joey surged up and grabbed Seto’s hand and pulled Seto down. Licking Seto’s lips, he kissed him, slowly savoring the taste. Joey placed one hand on the back on Seto’s neck and held him close, his lips and tongue tasting the unique spice and tang, of burnt sand and sweet apples, of Seto Kaiba. Releasing Seto, he lowered his head a blush flushing his skin, mantling his cheeks and throat. Smiling, he moved to get out of bed. Seto jumped back and headed to the door.

"See you later." Joey called out.

 

===============================

 

Mokuba watched his brother walk out the house. For some reason, his Nii-sama was upset about something. He could see it in the way Seto’s shoulder were tense and, Mokuba sighed, he was snapping at people on the phone. Getting comfortable, he decided to wait and ask Joey what was going on.

 

===============================

 

11:17 a.m.

 

Yami sat on the bed waiting for Yugi to finish getting dressed. He shook his head, wondering how Yugi had gotten him to agree to go to the movies with Ryou and Bakura.

__

Aibou, do you think we should tell Ryou and Bakura about Joey and Seto?

Yugi’s laugh bubbled out of the closet. _That would mean you would have to tell him that you and he are related, right?_

Yes. Yami smirked as he thought of how Bakura would respond.

__

Bad Yami. Yugi stepped out of the closet. He wore a shirt the same color of his eyes and black bell-bottom jeans. Around his wrists were wrapped red and black leather straps. _Yami?_

Yami sat, staring at his other half. _Aibou, you look..._ "beautiful." Yami walked over and brushed one finger down Yugi’s cheek. 

Yugi blushed and leaned in. Yami’s hands, translucent yet firm, smooth yet strong felt so right on him. _Come on, I want to meet there early, so Ryou and I can do some things before the movie._

Yes, Aibou. Yami hugged him tight then moved to open the door.

Suddenly a piercing ring from Yugi’s phone sounded. Yugi walked over and picked up the phone. "Moshi moshi?

"Good day to you, Yugi." A dry voice said over the line.

"Shadi! Masa el khir?"

"I am fine and you?"

"We’re okay." Yugi walked over to his bed. "What’s up?"

"I did as Yami asked, searching our records and history for the name of the one who killed Seferet and Jahi."

"Ahh ok, wait a moment?" Yugi held the phone lightly as Yami took over.

"Shadi, thank you."

"It was my pleasure, Yami. I have found little about the person except that he is a man, he was buried in an unknown tomb, and that he was about your age. There has been some speculation that he was a member of the royal family."

Yami closed his eyes in pain, a grimace crossed his face. " _Another_ one of the children my father threw aside?"

"Perhaps... we will continue looking. Also, soon I will be in Domino... _with_ the scales."

"I see... well I’m going to visit Seto tomorrow. Joey was supposed to stay over there for a few days. It’s time I checked on them."

Shadi’s voice held the faint trace of a smile as it floated over the connection. "If I remember rightly, they had a very interesting relationship." 

Yami laughed, after a few minutes he hung up. Noticing the time, he ran out of the room and down the steps. Calling a goodbye to Jii-chan, they headed for the movie theater.

 

===============================

 

10:13 a.m.

 

Bakura opened his eyes to see Ryou walking past, the soft blue and white stripes of Ryou’s sleep shirt brushed his arm. Smirking, the silver haired demon slipped one hand from beneath the cover and tugged Ryou into his arms. Opening his ice pale eyes fully, Bakura snuggled into Ryou’s side.

"It’s too early, why are you up?" he murmured sleepily.

"Well, I was going to fix breakfast. We’re supposed to meet Yugi and Yami at the theater at noon, Bakura." Ryou whispered.

"That’s almost two hours from now and... I... am cold. I hate being cold." Bakura slipped his arm around Ryou’s waist, fingers playing over the soft skin.

Ryou’s skin flushed, the pink giving his skin a healthy glow. "But what about eating breakfast?"

Bakura sat up, shrugging off the covers, "I am." Bakura slid his hand under Ryou’s shirt and crept slowly up his back. " _Off_...or I’ll take it off for you."

Ryou hissed and pushed Bakura way, his flush deepened, his skin turning brilliant crimson as he slowly raised his slim, creamy hands to his button. He lowered his head, letting his silken strands fall upon his face, and with resignation started to unbutton his shirt.

Bakura placed his hand over Ryou’s as he fumbled with the second button, "Hikari... If you..." Bakura pushed Ryou’s soft shimmering hair back, leaning forward, he whispered softly. "I meant it. Nothing you don’t want, my Hikari."

Ryou looked up as he felt the bed shift; Bakura was lying back down, his arms wide open. Ryou looked at him and biting his lip, whispering a question he didn’t know if he wanted answered, "Do you want me?" 

"Always. We may look alike but you a... softer, gentler side. Not weak so much as if you’ve never been hungry, as if you’ve never had to fend for yourself... and I want to make sure you never have to. You look at an artifact and see it’s beauty and wonder what it can tell you. I see it and wonder how much food it will bring. I always have. Perhaps if I had a family..." Bakura shrugged and stared at Ryou, his eyes softening. 

"Bakura..." 

Bakura placed one finger on Ryou’s lips, staring into Ryou’s eyes. "I love you as you will know." 

Ryou looked at his, eyes brimming with tears as he leaned down to kiss Bakura gently, his lips fluttering like wings. 

__

And if you ever tell **anyone** that I was this sappy... 

"You’ll kill me, except you won’t and I won’t, Koibito. Ryou closed his eyes, leaning down he kissed Bakura, placing his hands against Bakura’s shoulders. Shaking he broke the kiss, whispering beseechingly, "Love me."

"Forever, Meryt." Bakura reached up slowly, unbuttoning Ryou’s shirt as he laid kisses on his Ryou’s lips, chin, silky neck, licked his throat, and pressed a chaste in the hollow of his collarbone. Sliding the well-worn shirt off Ryou’s slim shoulders, he laid on kiss on the delicate milk pale skin. _Gentle forever, by Mother Mut._

Ryou shivered at the warm touches and licks. Carefully he slid one hand down over Bakura's and tugged at Bakura’s pants. The mate to Ryou’s shirt, he played with the waistband. _Ba-Baku-chan, may I... I..._

Do as you wish.

Ryou’s hand slipped under the band into the soft pants, blushing furiously he fingers flickered over the tip of Bakura's erection. Bakura cried out and jumped at the feel of the fingers dancing over his head. Trying not to scare Ryou, he slammed his hands to the bed, his hands fisting the sheets. Ryou stared at Bakura’s closed eyes, his jaw clenched tight, the utter raw expression on his face. Smiling, he wrapped his hand around Bakura and using a firm grip, stroked faster. Stunned at the idea that he was making Bakura feel this way, he laid his head on Bakura’s shoulder and watched as the small trembles shook his frame. He watched as tears leaked from Bakura’s tightly closed lids and Ryou stroked him faster. Bakura arched up, shuddering, almost throwing Ryou off him. Suddenly Ryou felt Bakura’s cock jump and warmth poured out. As the warmth spread slowly his over his hand, Ryou moaned and buried his face into Bakura’s neck, biting hard. Bakura moaned, growls slipping out. After a couple of moments, Bakura turned and nuzzled Ryou’s hair.

__

Thank you, now let me pleasure you. Bakura felt the rush of heat that meant that Ryou was once again blushing. _You know... red isn’t your best color._

Ryou sat up, mouth open with amazement. Smirking he raised up his soaked hand and slammed it towards Bakura’s chest. Chuckling, Bakura caught Ryou’s wrist and pulled Ryou closer. A strange look passed over his face. Staring up at Ryou, he reached down between them to rub his hand in Ryou’s seed. Lifting that hand up, he twined their two soaked hands. Staring into Ryou’s expressive eyes, he brought both hands to his lips and licked them. 

__

Bakura! Ryou cried out, shocked.

__

I am yours now.

Ryou rolled closer to Bakura and licked their joined hands before kissing him. _And I am yours._

Bakura smiled. _Rest, Meryt. The theater is only 15 minutes away._

Ryou snuggled close and slowly drifted off, safe for once.

 

Bakura turned toward the clock. 11:20. _Wake UP!_ Ryou grunted and buried his head in the pillows. _Wake up, Ryou. You have 25 minutes to shower and dress._

Ryou poked his head out, blinking owlishly, and carefully detached himself from the sheet. _Ouch, are you going to shower with me?_

If I do, we’ll be late and I don’t want to hear that hyper genki brat whine all day.

Be good, Koi.

I thought I was. Bakura stared at Ryou.

Ryou blushed, the light pink covering most of his body as he ran into the bathroom. Soon enough the shower started. Letting the hot drops strike at his shoulder, he leaned his forehead against the wall. Tears prickle at his eyes as he thinks of what just happened.

Bakura looked at the clothes he had picked for Ryou. _We have to take you shopping. You have too many pastels. Don’t want people to think you’re a pansy._ Straightening up the black pants that he knew would mold itself to Ryou’s pert ass, he smirked. Heading into the kitchen, he made some toast and buttered it. Taking it back into the room, he waited. 

Ryou came out, drying himself. A pale robin egg blue towel wrapped double arond his slim waist. His ribs showed under his translucent skin. He stopped and looked at Bakura. Bakura who was covered in... the results of their morning romp. _Aren’t you going to shower?_

Why? I have a faster way to clean up. Now eat the toast, you’re too thin! And wipe your hands before you put on the shirt.

I forgot I had that. Ryou noticed as he ate the toast.

__

You would... you and pastels. But it’ll make you look tasty... and it’s silk. Bakura stood up, taking the plate. _Go change._

When Bakura came back, Ryou was wiggling his way into the tight black denim pants. Smiling, Bakura came up behind him and pressed close. _Feels good._ Bakura chuckled and then disappeared, leaving a faint cloud of flaky white to drift to the carpet.

Ryou laughed and ran out the house. Halfway there, he saw a very depressed Tristan.

"Ryou?! You look... wonderful."

"Hey Tristan. Thank you! What’s wrong?" Ryou asked, gently taking Tristan’s arm and leading him towards the theater.

"Nothing much, just can’t find Joey." Tristan muttered, following Ryou.

"Well, since you can’t find Joey, how about spending time at the movies with me, Bakura, Yami and Yugi?" Ryou looked up at him, his brown eyes staring through silver lashes.

"Sure, whatever you want." Tristan smiled indulgently.

 

===============================

 

Seto pushed open the limo’s door and looked up. The building he was at was a rather small four floor building. The side facing the street was... simply grey. It looked as if the last time the front had been cleaned was before he was born.

"Mudaro, this place is depressing." 

"Yes, Master Kaiba. According to our file on Mr. Wheeler, he _could_ to afford an apartment in a better part of town." Ms. Mudaro stated as she waited.

"Let’s hurry this up." Seto’s lips curled in a sneer, "Are the people from Tanaka Maeda, here?"

"Yes, sir." She pointed to the men in the medical green as they stood waiting. Beckoning them over, she waited. Three men stood silently as Seto stared at them. The stiff breeze whipped his coat around his body. Ignoring the growing amount of curious people looking out their windows and watching him. Pitching his voice to be heard over the wind, he began.

"Upstairs there is a man, a vile and disgusting vermin of a man. A man who has utterly, without remorse failed in his duty as a parent. A male human who doesn’t deserve to be called a man. A thing that is so frustrated at his own life that he beats his child. A thing so consumed in drink that his smell will likely disgust you. When we go up there, your job... take him down. He’s going to Tanaka Maeda. You don’t need to be gentle." Seto turned swiftly and strode inside. Stopping before an elevator he waited. Soon enough, the door opened and the three men stepped inside covering the entire back of the elevator. Stepping aside for Mudaro to enter, Seto turned and backed in. Slowly the elevator rose to the third floor.

Soon enough the doors opened on the third floor. Seto stepped out and walked over to 301. Ahead of him he could see several young men and women wearing coveralls from a cleaning company. Catching Mudaro’s eyes, he nodded, pleased. As he got closer to the door, he took Joey’s keys out of his pocket and handed them to Mudaro. Nodding, she opened the door and stepped back as the stench of a man who hasn’t washed, moved, or done anything in a week. Eyes wide, she stepped aside for the three men of the detox center to go in. A few seconds later, they in the hall could hear falling glass and breaking bottles. Soon the three men came out with a fourth man struggling and trying to kick at them. He cursed and bucked, screaming. Seto stared at him for a moment before walking over to him. 

"The only reason I’m giving you this chance is because Joey, for some obscure and strange reason, still loves you. However, once you get out, do not think that Joey is going to come home. Oh no... he’s mine for as long as I wish to keep him and you are going to sign his guardianship over to me." Seto raised one eyebrow and turned back to apartment. Stiffly standing in the room, he cleared his throat and started to speak. He ignored the ranting and screaming of the drunk. "Ladies and Gentlemen, this apartment must be emptied, cleaned, refurbished, and look better than new. Change the tiles, the paint, the wallpaper, and the furniture. Everything. The stuff in the young man’s room will be boxed up and delivered to my house. Open a window and air this place out. It’s _rancid_." 

Seto leaned against the wall, opening his briefcase and pulling out the green file folder on top. Flipping it open, he started to read. Thirty minutes later, he closed the file. _I did this. It’s my fault. Dammit, Joey is going to kill me._ Seto walked into the apartment to see Mudaro open a door on the far side.

"This is young Joey’s room, sir." Mudaro stepped to the side. "I’ve allowed them to take the bed and the dresser, but the clothes are over there in the gray box, it’s marked. I also had them pack Joey’s books, manga, and pictures in the light blue box. In the rose box is everything else, sir. I have a design team coming up in about an hour, they are going to pull up all the tile and carpet, repaint the walls, and totally replace all furnishing, fixtures, and appliances."

"Good. Now, I’m going to be in here for a while, go do the rest of this dump." Seto walked over to the light blue box and opened it. He didn’t pay attention as Mudaro left, instead deciding to look through the box. On the very top was a large artist sketchbook. Flipping it open, he looked at the drawings one by one. Fantastic animals from gryphons to manticores covered some pages, other seemed to be studies of people. One surprised him, it showed a rather series looking young boy who was playing a chess game. The background was an oversize black chess piece, the bishop. The date on the bottom was January 11, 1992. The day after he kil- inherited KaibaCorp. Stunned, Seto slammed the book shut and tossed it on top of the other things in the box. Dusting his pants off, he stuck one slim hand out the doorway and waved. When his summons was answered, he pointed to the box. "Bring it."

Seto swiveled and stalked towards the door. A couple minutes later he was in his limo heading home. A light blue box beside him and his eyes closed. _300,000 yen of materials!_ _Damn Wheeler, if that ass hadn’t been so greedy, Joey wouldn’t have had to live in that hellhole. Asshole_

 

===============================

 

Marik snarled as a piercing shriek sounded in the room. Moaning, he dragged the dark plum silk sheet down from over his face. A wiggle and Rashid, behind him, pulled him closer and buried his nose in Marik’s pale hair. Marik felt a warmth spread from inside and he scowled at himself. _I’m growing soft._

The shriek sounded again and Marik moaned before reaching down to the floor by the bed and picking up the seriously life-like hawk phone.

"If this is someone I don’t want to talk to, I will kill you." Marik rapped out.

"Marik, dear friend, behave. I just wanted to ask if you had a spare room?" Shadi chuckled warmly. 

"So you are coming over. And are you bringing _them_?" Marik asked, moving to sit up. Rashid muttered and nuzzled into Marik’s ribs. Marik smiled at him, rubbing his hand over Rashid’s head. Rashid nuzzled closer, his warm breath crept tickling over Marik’s ribs. 

"Yes, something has happened. I can no longer see who has the Eye. Tell me do you or your Hikari remember any legends about a priest who had a lover or mate being killed?"

"Not of the top of my head but I’ll ask Isis. Is it important?" Marik purred as Rashid licked him. Marik jumped and looked down at him. Rashid smiled and slipped his velvety red tongue out, flickering it against Marik pale skin. "Never mind, I’m busy so I’m going to hang up on you now."

Shadi laughed at his friend’s impatience. "Fine, I’ll get into the airport around 10 tonight. See you then."

Marik pulled the cord out of the phone and dropped them to the floor. Smirking he faced Rashid, "Want to play?"

"Always, _Master_ Marik." Rashid whispered huskily, lifting his head up to kiss Marik’s chest. 

Marik laughed, pushing Rashid onto his back and straddling him. The sensuous silk sheets pooled around his hips. Pushing his knees out a bit, he pinned Rashid’s arms. "Don’t move."

"As you wish, Master Marik." Rashid relaxed, tilting his head slightly upwards to show his slim, tanned neck off, all the more ready to be bitten. 

Marik sat there, smirking. Carefully he reached up and traced a finger down Rashid’s face, his fingers stroking the carvings carefully. "You would do _anything_ I want, wouldn’t you?" 

"Of course, Master Marik." Rashid shivered, impatient.

"Why?"

"Because I love you, Master Marik. I love Malik as well. I’m in love with both of you. I would anything to make you happy." Rashid opened his legs a bit and wiggled his hips. 

Marik eyes opened wide and he jumped when Rashid suddenly flipped him over and licked his neck. Marik bucked as that warm tongue caressing him. He shook as Rashid nuzzled his shoulder. Rashid whined and bit him, sucking as if he couldn’t fill his mouth enough with the taste of Marik’s dusky flesh. Marik felt that same inexplicable burning warmth rising in him again. _What in the name of all the gods?!_

It’s love, Marik. Rashid loves you, and me. I love you and Rashid. You are in love with me and Rashid.

NO! I- 

Rashid smiled at his distracted wide-eyed lover. Slowly he raised one hand to Marik’s lips and slipped a finger in. Marik started to lick and suck and moan, wrapping his long pink tongue around that thick finger. 

__

Accept it, beloved. Me and Rashid have... though I can’t wait until... 

Until what, Hikari? Marik pressed his hips up towards Rashid, desperately trying to rub up against his lover..

__

Untilmeandrashidmakelove.

Rashid chuckled and moved his lips up, sucking gently as he went.

__

Marik laughed silently. You are not a virgin, Hikari.

You aren’t. Malik sounded exasperated. _I’ve never..._

And you want Rashid to be your first? Marik tried to hide his jealousy _._

Him... or you.

Oh... 

Rashid slid his hand down Marik’s thigh. Carefully lifting Marik’s legs, he pressed one well sucked finger against Marik’s tight circle Smiling in anticipation ,he pressed in softly curling his finger. Seeking, searching, until he found that small but so very delicious spot. Brushing his finger over it, he sealed his lips over Marik’s as Marik screamed. Rashid felt the several warm spots landing on his back.

__

See, Marik.

Rashid fell to the side and pulled a shocked and silent Marik close. "I love you, Marik, Malik." Resting his chin on top of Marik’s head, he stroked his back until Marik’s breathing deepened. Feeling happy, Rashid allowed himself to drift slowly to sleep.

 

===============================

 

A knock on the window caused Seto to come abruptly out his reverie. Lowering the window, he turned to face whoever it was that disturbed him. "What?" 

The chauffeur stood quietly before speaking, "We are at the theater Master Kaiba and your brother is waiting."

Seto nodded and stepped out. Deliver the box to the house. Tell Mudaro that Joey needs new clothes. Also see about suspending Mr. Wheeler’s license. Does Joey have one? What movies are being shown?"

"I believe it is ‘The Strange’ and ‘Aldebaran 2: The Second Chance’, sir. The first is a paranormal thriller and the second is a science fiction movie. Young Master Mokuba is waiting inside with Mr. Joseph." He closed the door behind Seto.

Seto’s head snapped up and nodded curtly. Without another word, he headed over to the theater, his pale blue leather coat snapping. Opening the door, he noticed his younger brother over at the popcorn counter. A smile softened his face, "Mokuba."

"Nii-sama!!" Mokuba turned and ran over to Seto, hugging him tight. "Did you get all you needed to do done?" 

"Yep, now it’s me and you... and a _puppy_?" Seto raised one eyebrow. Seto hugged his brother closer.

Mokuba giggled, happily, and pulled Seto down. Whispering, "But if I left him then the JSPCA would have come after us for neglect. Besides he’s going to be around for a while, _right_?"

Seto stared at his brother for a moment before hugging him tight. "You don’t mind?"

"Of course not, I want you happy. He’s gonna make you happy right?"

"I think so, I hope so." Seto whispered as he played with the ends of his brother’s hair. 

"Good. I sent Joey inside already." Mokuba stepped back and took Seto’s hand. "We already got the candy, popcorn, and drinks."

Seto grinned as Mokuba led him to the largest theater, even opening the door for him. Seto walked in and headed for the middle of the theater where he could see a shock of golden hair spread out over the back of a sleek maroon chair. Seto walked up to him and stared, Joey looked bad. His skin had become translucent, the blue veins standing out in stark release while it looked like a luggage store had held a clearance sale of all navy and black bags under his eyes. Mokuba came up behind him and tugged on his shirt.

"He couldn’t even stay up to watch cartoons with me today, kept falling asleep. Are the dreams really that bad?" Mokuba asked quietly.

"Mine haven’t been, when we get home, he and I need to talk." Seto reached over, his hand hovering above Joey’s head before he moved it to Joey’s shoulder and shook him awake.

"Wha’ oh Seto." Joey opened his eyes and yawned. "What time is it?"

"Almost noon. I’ve moved you out of your apartment and your father is..." Seto cut his eyes to Mokuba then back to Joey, "being taken care of."

"Good." Joey brushed his hair back with his hand. "So it’s movie time?"

"Yes." Seto sat down next to Joey and pulled his little brother into his lap. As the lights dimmed, Seto turned to look at Joey, "Oh and don’t worry, _pup_ , I’m here to protect you."

Joey growled and flicked his ear before settling in to watch the movie.

 

===============================

 

He kicked out, trying again to get loose. The two men grinning over him, laughed as they leaned down and forced his hands down. Growling, he let his head slam back on the headrest. He couldn’t believe it. Here he was strapped down to a five-point restraint bed, arms and legs spread out. And that damned brat was relaxing with his fucking butt buddy. He glared at the two men as they finished strapping him down. One of them walked over to a table and picked up a syringe.

"You know, bums like you aren't our usual clientele. We usually deal with important people. However, Mr. Kaiba asked us to take you in. Probably so he could have all the fun he wants with your son, without you interfering. He probably takes after his mother," The guard looked at him, "Well, we hope for Kaiba's sake he does."

The other guard laughed as he stroked one hand leisurely down Mr. Wheeler’s chest. "He’s not that bad, later he may even be fun." 

The first guard shook his head and firmly inserted the needle into a vein. "Wait until the drugs take effect, no need to fight him." Smiling at the restrained man, he patted his cheek. "This is just a relaxant, we don’t want you to hurt yourself bucking and straining when the tremens set in." 

Laughing, both guards left the room. Wheeler lay back, his vision fogging. The drug was so good he didn’t even flinch when his door opened later that night.

 

===============================

 

Malik stared at the phone, sighing. This would have been so much easier if his other half hadn’t been up to his tricks again. Taking a deep breath, he picked up the phone and dialed it.

"Moshi moshi! Kame Game Shop!" Yugi’s voice came over the line.

"Ummm... Yugi?"

"Malik! Hey.What’s up?"

Malik blushed, "Ummm, I hope you don’t mind me calling. Ah..."’

"Of course I don’t. Is everthing ok with you and Marik?"

"Oh! Not a problem, he’s a lot... he’s changed." Malik whispered. "It’s been easier lately and... Yugi? Do you love your Yami?"

"Yes, but you mean am I in love with Yami?"

"Yeah."

"Yes, it’s hard not to be in love with someone who knows every thing there is to you and still loves you."

Malik made a small regretful noise. "Wish Ryou’s and my Yami knew that."

"They do. I know your Yami hurt you. And I can’t say I understand why. I think it has to do with what happened to you. I think he loved you so much, he shielded you when you got... when it happened and took all the pain. Sometimes too much pain can make us act weird but it was still done for love. For you." Yugi insisted. 

Malik closed his eyes. "Maybe, but that’s not why I called. Shadi called this morning. He’s coming into Domino tonight. Could... I mean would you mind calling the others, asking them to meet somewhere? I’d call but..."

"They don’t hold what Marik did against you." Yugi replied. _Shadi’s coming, Yami._

Ask Malik if he’s bringing the scales. Yami replied distractedly.

"Mali-kun? Did Shadi mention bringing anything?"

Malik nodded, forgetting Yugi couldn’t see him, "Yes, the Scales." Malik lifted his head as the door opened and Rashid walked in. Rashid smiled as he walked across the room and slid behind Malik. "Those are for Kaiba, right?"

"Yeah, he’s also remembering ancient Egypt. For some reason it really bothers Yami."

"Yes, it would. That means all the objects are in play. The final game is ready. It will Yami against Seto, I believe. Hopefully it will turn out better than before." Malik shivered and pressed back against Rashid. Rashid ran his fingers through Malik’s hair, wrapping his other arm around Malik’s waist. His lip pressed a soft kiss against Malik’s neck. "That means someone can die... or worse."

"We... won’t let anything happen to them. I promise, Mali-kun." Yugi whispered. "I’ll call Seto, Ryou, and Tristan tonight, ok?"

"Ok, and thank you, Yugi." Malik replied softly.

"See you tomorrow." Yugi hung up the phone.

Malik placed one hand on top of Rashid’s and tilted his face up. Rashid took the phone from him and hung it up before he kissed those pale carnation lips. 

 

===============================

 

Seto grunted and lifted Mokuba up a bit more securely. Sighing, wen Joey finally got the door opened, he strode through the door and headed towards his brother’s room. "I’ll be right back."

Joey nodded and, toeing off his shoes, walked into the living room. He stared at the place, all blue ice and white snow. _Ya know, this scheme is getting outta control._ Shaking his head, Joey sat on the thick ice blue carpet. It was so thick and soft. Yawning, he tilted his head back and rubbed it on the couch. _Who needs a bed, this is wonderful. Com—fy_

Seto walked back out a few moments later. Seeing Joey, leaning and asleep against the couch, he sighed. Walking over, he shook Joey. After a few second he leaned down and ruffled Joey’s hair. "Good puppy."

Joey stirred, hearing the last word, he growled and poke Kaiba in the side. Stretching he pushed himself up and collapsed onto the couch, next to Seto. "What’d I tell you about calling me a ‘puppy’."

"What did I say about animals on the couch?"

"Ya know, I would be angry at you if I didn’t know this was Kaiba’s fault. So I’ll forgive you. Are you still having dreams?" Joey leaned back and closed his eyes.

"Do not fall asleep. What is wrong with you?"

"What do ya mean what’s wrong with me? Nothing’s wrong with me!" Joey snarled.

"Mokuba said you couldn’t stay up at all today. When I got to the theater, you were asleep. I left you here alone for just a few minutes and you feel asleep again! What is wrong with you?"

"N-nothing’s wrong."

"Do not lie to me, Joey! I need to know what’s wrong with you! Whatever it is, may be hurting you and I can’t afford that." Seto leaned forward, his voice cold. His eyes hard and stony.

Joey head jerked up, "Why? What am I to you?"

"Y-y... For some perverse reason, what ever is coming, what ever I may have to face; I’m getting that knowledge through you. If you are out of commission then I’m in danger and I can’t afford that. Mokuba is too young to be left alone, I have to live just a while longer."

"So, I’m just a... tool, something for you to use, right? I don’t believe that. You almost flipped when I asked I asked if that red headed fox would go out with me." Joey leaned closer, staring into Seto navy eyes. His voice lowered, "I know, I’m more to you than a tool. I _always_ was."

Seto hissed, pushing Joey back, "That was the past and we know how that ended... both of us dead. And it doesn’t matter what I want... or don’t. Mokuba must be provided for, I have to take care of him."

"And I know he wants you to be happy. How can something happening between you and me, hurt him?" Joey whispered, moving closer.

Seto moved back, his voice trembling, "Because last time we got together, I died. I can’t risk that."

"That was then Seto... it was the past. What happens now, happens because we want it to. Not because it happened before. We aren’t them, we are _us_." Joey placed his hands on either side of Seto.

"Joey... give me time. I- I must admit that I am not... used to this." Seto whispered, his shadowed eyes flicking downward.

"Ok, Seto." Joey leaned forward, kissing him lightly, a small teasing kiss. "I can wait."

Seto watched as Joey sat back up and leaned his head against the back of the couch. His pale lids closed over his sparking eyes. Seto stared at him and marveled, at how the lamp light bounced off different hairs, making Joey seem to glow. A sudden loud ring broke Seto’s concentration. Without moving his eyes, he picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Kaiba, it’s Yami..." 

 

===============================

 

Pegasus looked at the box on his desk. Even in the dim light of his office he could see it in sharp relief. It was rather small, only 4 by 6 by 3 inches, barely bigger than an index card. It was made of dark wood with an inlaid pattern of several light woods. They appeared to be random but you could barely discern the pattern of the millennium eye. Staring at the box, he stroked the dark wine leather of his chair. Across the hunter green deep pile carpet, a door opened. The light from the rest of the house halo a young man. 

"Come in." Pegasus’ voice reaches across. 

The young man walked across the carpet silently, stopping before desk. Silently he raised one slim pale green eyebrow. "Did you need something, Pegasus?"

"No, I have a gift for you." Pegasus spun the box around and opened it. The eye gleamed avariciously. Smiling slightly he looked up at the young man who so resembled that arrogant ass Kaiba yet didn’t. This young man had light green hair with clear ice blue eyes, more fitting for the Blue Eyes White Dragon that Kaiba harped on. "But you need to take it of your own free will. It’s called the Millennium Eye and such wonders it can give you. Such wonders..."


	6. Chapter 6

Gin no Umi o Wataru 6

Notes: Hem Netjer means High Priest

 

****

SUNDAY- Midnight

He stood on the golden sand, his lightly tinted hair blowing in the desert wind. The tips of his hair lashed and stung his face. His lip curled cruelly. One weathered hand reached down to bury itself in brittle sun bleached blond hair. Tangling itself in the curls, he pulled back, exposing the pale neck. Drops of salt burned their way down the sunburned neck. The sorcerer leaned down and whispered harshly to the slave. "Do you think that your beloved priest will come to save you? Do you think he'd ransom you?"

The slave turned his head and stared at the sorcerer from behind lowered lids then turned to face out towards the desert. A billow of yellow sand appeared along the horizon. A short while later, a blue robed figure stood a short distance from them. They reached up and detached the portion hanging over the face. Seferet stared at them. "Of all the people I didn't expect it to be you. I should have I guess. No one else is mad enough to try this."

The sorcerer stepped closer. "You should behave yourself, Seferet! Or have you forgotten who I have... right here?"

Seferet stared down at his beloved. _Jahi, are you well?_

Well enough, nothing that plenty of love and rest can't cure, meryt. Can I expect both?

Forever.

Seferet turned from his lover and stared at the last person he ever expected to see. Sighing, he folded his arms defiantly across his chest. "What are you doing here. Our brother exiled you."

"Yes, he did... didn't he? The fool. He should have killed me if he wanted to be rid of me." The sorcerer sneered.

Seferet shook his head. "I voted for your death. The pharaoh loves all his siblings. Doesn't matter who their mother is. He loves us all. Even you. You tried to take over the world, and he still loves you. He's a more forgiving man than I shall ever be. If you let Jahi go now, I'll kill you quickly. And not torment your soul too much."

The young man laughed wickedly, his voice dripping with scorn. "You think you can challenge me?! You're at the disadvantage! Now give me the millennium items or... I will give Jahi's soul to Ammit, Devourer of Souls!"

Seferet stared at him. "You never did learn anything. I am SEFERET! I AM THE HEM NETJER. HIGH PRIEST OF THE UPPER AND LOWER LANDS! I speak for Set, Osiris, and Ra. I have personally... because of you, performed the rites of death too many time. You cannot give Jahi to Ammit. Ammit eats only the souls of the ones who were judged to be evil. There is no evil in my Jahi. As for the items... No, I didn't bring them. Our brother is at this moment hiding them. You tipped your hand, brother. When you sought Adna's death." 

__

Thank you, Sef. I could not bear it if the world was doomed for me, but couldn't you have brought a legion or seven to kill this asshole? I don't care if he is your brother. Jahi rolled his eyes from where he sat on the sand.

Sef's lip curled in a minute smile. "So Nkosi, now what?"

"Now... you pay!" Nkosi twisted his hand in mid air and a bronze curved scythe appeared in his hand. The flash of light caught the scythe's edge. Jahi lunged back, ripping his hair out of Nkosi's hands. The blade flew downward, slicing effortlessly through his stomach.

"NO!" Seferet lunged at Nkosi. 

Nkosi laughed. Seferet ran over to them, slipping on the sand, he launched towards his brother. Seferet snarled, reaching back he pulled a short wide knife. Grunting, he placed it against his brother's rib cage. He stared into the clear ice blue eyes of his brother, and shoved the knife up, sliding it between the third and fourth ribs. As the needle thin blade slid into Nkosi's heart, Seto laughed and whispered, "Our mother voted for your death."

Nkosi's eyes widened as he screamed out in pain. Desperately he swung his bronze sword against Seferet's back. Seferet felt the cold bite of the knife in his back. Rolling off Nkosi, he pressed his knife deeper. Sef turned his head looking for Jahi, seeing his lover so very far away, he rolled to his stomach and started to crawl... so slowly. As he moved, he felt the life falling inexorably to the golden sands. He could hear the hiss of the cool blood sizzling under the intense heat of the day. He had to reach his lover.

Jahi coughed up blood and rolled over. He raised his head looking for his meryt. Gulping, he looked around. Seeing Seferet heading towards him, a smile crossed his pale face. Using his fingers, he pulled himself forward. He stared across the sand at his beloved, he knew he had to get to him. Collapsing, he struggled to gather enough strength to crawl again. Fingers tapped nervously in his outstretched palm. _Sef._

"J-ja-" Meryt. I'm sor-

I regret nothing. Is the sun setting? I'm cold.

Sef turned his head slightly to look at the sun, ignoring the bits of sand that entered his eye. The sun was only a couple of fingers from high. Sef pulled himself closer. _It's time to rest. Rest. I'll be here I'll be here, I will always find your heart mate._

Sleep with me, you're never alone if you're with me. And you look so tired, Sef. Rest.

Ok, let's sleep.

We're dying?

We never really die. We will be reborn and find each other again, I swear it.

I know. Jahi reached out one bloody hands and stroked Sef's cheek. _Sleep we-_

JAHI! Sef let his head fall... 

* * *

 

Seto opened his eyes and stared at the blue eyed dragon on his ceiling. Closing his eyes, he could see Jahi's life dripping onto the sand. Bolting up, he stared into the darkness of his room. He reached out to turn on the bedside lamp. The small gold chain was jumping and flipping. Seto stared at his hand, shaking. Sighing, he swung his legs over to the side of the bed. Getting up on unsteady legs, he reached for his robe. Clutching it around him, he threw open his door and dashed to Joey's room. 

Opening Joey's door, he crept in. The pale moonlight that filtered into his room allowed Seto to see where he was going. Silently he walked over to Joey's bed. Twisted in the sheets, the moonlight glinted off Joey's pale flesh. Seto whimpered as he realized that Joey was naked under the sheets, his eyes raced over the pallid flesh, as shimmering and bright as the moonlit sands in his dreams. Sighing, Seto reached out to lightly play his fingertips over Joey's firm flesh, tracing nonsensical patterns. He ran his fingers of the warm silk of Joey's ankle as it peeked through the sheets, up to the rounded flesh of the upper thigh, Seto's fingers danced up over the knob of wrist, and ghosted through the thin forest of blond hairs that dusted Joey's arm. His fingers roamed up over the thin shoulder, Seto leaned over and blew warm air over the shadowed shoulder. He smiled as Joey twitched. Joey settled down into his sleep. Seto sat back on his heels to watch him. 

Silvery light leapt and rolled around the room as the moon did her nightly rounds, clouds passing caused the shadows to flex and shift. Seto lost himself sitting there; he didn't notice the first stirrings of Joey's nightmare. A flash of gold caught Seto's eye, coming back to himself he stared as Joey turned and twisted, the sheet twining around Joey's stomach. The dark red sheet, almost brown. The deep dried color of blood. A vision overlay of burning golden sand, a rich metallic tang of blood, a memory reached out to him. A whisper passed his lips, "No... Sef... Nkosi... watch..."

Biting his lip, he lunged up. As Joey sat up, Seto slipped in beside him. Wrapping one hand over Joey's mouth and the other around his waist, holding Joey's hands to his sides. Joey bucked in his arms. Eyes open, but not seeing, he twisted and fought. From behind Seto's hand, Joey screamed.

"Stop. Calm down, please. Joey. It's me, Seto. Calm down, please. MERYT. Joey. We did it... we found each other."

Slowly Joey relaxed, his eyes showing that he was slowly coming back. With a whine, he slumped against Seto's shoulder. Seto's arm moved from Joey's waist, circling Joey's shoulders. "Shhhh, shhh. It's ok; we found each other, just as I promised you we would. I don't break my promises."

Joey rolled his head, one eye dark with pain, and stared at him. "He... hated you. He cut... you... me."

"I know."

"He... was your..."

"Brother, I know." Seto whispered, one hand massaging the back of Joey's neck. "I and he had the same mother. We also had a sister, Adna. She was so beautiful. Black hair with the darkest blue eyes. So they named her for the night sky. When I was younger, I'd dream of her and Nkosi. When I got older, and Mokuba was born, Nkosi hated it, he didn't like me spending so much time with him. It got so bad and he was so jealous, that I had to ask Nkosi to leave. Then... my parents' died, I had to concentrate on Mokuba. So I asked Adna to leave, she understood. I haven't thought about her in years."

Joey laughed, rubbing his cheek against Seto's shoulder. "Nah, you didn't. Ever look at your VR game? Princess Adena? But... does that mean Mokuba was a girl?"

Seto stared at Joey a moment before he started to laugh. Joey bit his lip, trying not to lose control. Giving up both boys fell to the bed, laughing. Still chuckling, Seto slid the sheets from under them and covered both of them. Rolling Joey to his side, he curled up behind him. "Sleep now."

"Hmm... yah, tired. Hey..."

"Hmmm...?" Seto muttered into Joey's neck.

"Can I tell Mokuba that he was a girl?" Joey snickered. Yawning, he backed up into Seto.

"Ask me tomorrow." Seto muttered before letting himself drop off to sleep.

* * *

 

Rashid leaned over and gently pushed open the door. Smiling he leaned down, picking up the bags, and allowed the others to enter the apartment. Following his Mali-chan, he ran his fingertips down Malik's back. A slight trail of dark crawled over Malik's cheeks. 

"Rashid..." Malik bit his lip.

"Yes, Master Malik." Rashid bowed, taking Malik's hand and kissing the fingertips.

Malik flushed even more and gently moved his hand from Rashid's.

Shadi chuckled from inside. "Isis, I see that all is well on this front. I wondered if they ever were going to accept their destiny."

Isis' giggle floated musically over the group. "Rashid, stop embarrassing Malik. I had dinner made before we went to pick you up, Shadi. Please let's eat."

Shadi bowed slightly, "Of course."

Malik stood there looking at Rashid. "You're my destiny?"

"I am glad to hear that, for I have always known that you were mine." Rashid leaned closer, one hand cupping Malik's face. "When you were born, before you were even given to your mother, I saw you and knew. I waited. I would have waited... forever."

Malik stepped forward, wrapping his arms around Rashid. "And Marik?"

"He is you as much as Yugi is the Pharaoh. A part of you and I would never think to separate you two. I love him as I love you, just differently."

Malik nodded. "Okay. Let's go before Isis drags us in."

Rashid smiled gently. "True, your sister would not like us not enjoying her dinner." Rashid gently tugged Malik towards the dining room.

__

By all the Gods of the Nile! This is sickening! Can you be any more saccharine? It's like a bad plot to a bad movie.

Marik, I love you too. We both do.

::shudder:: Rest assured, that you never have to fear that I will act like... that.

I know, you love me differently.

I never said that.

I know anyway. Malik sat down next to Rashid at the table. _I said it. I love you._

"So tomorrow we meet Kaiba and the others at his house?" Shadi's voice interrupted the inner conversation. 

"Yes, Kaiba..." 

* * *

 

Yugi headed towards the tall black gate. About eight feet tall at its highest point, it was made of dark wood. On the left side about 4 feet off the ground was a small black intercom. With a dark metal grill and black buttons. _Ummm, Yami, do you want to take over?_

If you wouldn't mind, Yugi. It would be easier to talk to the rest of them. Yami replied.

__

If I minded, I wouldn't have asked. Yugi laughed as he held the glowing puzzle. A second later, he was looking out of Yami's eyes. _Besides, I love seeing you and Kaiba go at it._

Yami shook his head and pressed the button on the intercom. "Yes, Mister Muto. Please enter." 

A soft click and the gate swung open. Yami shook his head and headed up the driveway. Standing in front of the door. Reaching up to knock, the door opened wide. A young man dressed in emerald silk slack with a black shirt and a matching jacket, Joey reached out and hugged his friend. 

"Hey Yami, what's up?"

"Joey... you look good. So I guess Seto isn't treating you badly." Yami stepped in, pushing the door closed behind himself.

"Yeah, well apparently Seto had someone go out and buy this stuff for me, yesterday. After he threw out all my clothes, even the uniforms." Joey tugged on Yami's sleeve and pointed the way. "He said that later, someone would come by and measure me for new ones."

"I see... and what does your father think of _this_?" Yami asked carefully.

"Who cares? Seto got him into some sort of rehab program. I'm staying here with him for now. Gonna try to get a job; so that when the bastard gets out, I can leave."

Yami stared at his friend. Soon they approached a large wooden door, Joey pushed it open and followed Yami in. The room was a library, the walls totally covered with books. In the center of the room was an immense golden wood table. Seated around it, starting at the head, were: Kaiba, dressed in a dark Mediterranean blue suit similar to Joey yet with a cream shirt; beside him sat Mokuba, dressed in a smaller version of the same suit, this time in light sky blue with a pale green shirt under it. Next to Mokuba sat Tristan, dressed better than usual with a coffee and cream polo shirt and gray slacks. Then Malik and Rashid sat together, dressed in matching leather outfits; Malik in cream and Rashid in a dark purple vest without shirts and tight pants. Across from Rashid, Isis stared at Yami, with her hair coiled and sitting atop her head. Several tendrils fell gently down her neck and over her thin linen outfit. A subtle yellow-cream combination and several blue and green designs around the edges. Seated next to her Shadi sat in his customary robes of sand and white.

Joey led Yami to the seat beside Shadi and sat down at the last empty seat, next to Seto.

"Good everyone's here. Except..." Seto tapped his fingers against the table.

"Téa!" Mokuba piped up.

Tristan turned to glare at Seto. "She's in America, as if you didn't know. You sent her."

Seto turned his head slowly to look at Tristan. "I sent her? Are you referring to the Nenjuugyouji Houki Tenkosei Gakujutsu (Annual young exchange student scholarship contest)?"

"Yes, she won one of the slots for Dance." Joey pointed out.

"I see... I don't have anything to do with that. Kaiba did. He knew that those children would feel indebted to him and of course, if he offered them a job later, they'd work out of loyalty to him. For every five hard subjects: math, science, astronomy, chemistry, or teaching; he would sponsor two soft subjects: music, art, dance. That way he would be known as a supporter of the arts as well as a leader in technology. I have nothing to do with who is selected. The only rules I insist on them having is that they can't choose Mokuba or myself. If I want Mokuba to see America, I will take him myself." Seto stated, crossing one leg over the other.

"Ok... well. Actually, Kaiba, I was wondering what dreams you have been having." Yami asked delicately.

"Is that why we're here cause Kaiba is having some dreams?" Tristan looked around the table. "Everyone dreams."

"Nah, that's not all Tristan. See, for almost a month, I've been dreaming about Seto dying. Anyways it turns out, that they aren't dreams... they're memories. That's why you're here. Because something's happening and you've been here along. And you're my best friend." Joey pointed out.

"Charming." Seto drawled, before closing his eyes. "The dreams of the past few days aren't really as important as last night's was. He stood on the golden sands, in the sun... 

* * *

Yami nodded as Seto finished telling them of last night's dream. "And you remember his name to be Nkosi?"

"Yeah, and he had his hair dyed a really bright green. For some reason, he really hates Seto." Joey turned to face Seto. "He killed Seto."

"And you." Malik leaned forward. "Shadi asked us if we ever heard any stories that mentioned the high priest. We haven't. But I did hear one about a Nkosi... but he was the hero. He battled an evil sorcerer who had control over the pharaoh."

"I remember that one. They used to tell it when we were small." Rashid rubbed his ear, "Let's see... Nkosi was supposed to be the high priest but a new kid appeared. Everything was okay for a while but when adults weren't watching, the new kid would hurt others and steal. Finally, only Nkosi stood in his way. So he framed Nkosi for theft. Nkosi was thrown out. The other one became the High Priest, he weaved many spells and caused the Pharaoh, his advisers, and the other members of the priesthood to adore him. Several years passed and Nkosi traveled, learning as much magic as he could. Fifteen years after the evil one ascended to the top rank of the priesthood, Nkosi came back. He brought with him a beauty that he created; hair the color of wheat, eyes the color of the Nile, and skin as pale as moonlight. Gently, he weaved into her mind a compulsion that would have her come back when he called. Sending the beauty to the priest, he waited. Soon he noticed his control weakening, the beauty fell in love with the evil priest. So using some wheaten hairs from her head, he called her before his control weakened further. She came and the priest followed.

"For two days she walked, for two days the evil sorcerer followed. Finally, they met high atop a dune. The evil sorcerer and Nkosi fought. For days they fought, until at last the sorcerer stabbed the beauty through the gut. Stunned, Nkosi reached behind himself and pulled a blade. Attacking the evil one, he ran him through. The evil one laughed as he grabbed Nkosi and pulled himself along the blade. Suddenly, Nkosi felt a sharp pain, a small dagger was in the evil one's hand, and it was buried in Nkosi's heart. When they found them later, all that was left was a pile of dried wheat in a pool of silver water and the sand blasted bodies of two men." 

"That... how dare he!" Seto's eyes blazed. "How dare!"

Malik shrunk back against Rashid. Isis turned to Yami. Shadi leaned forward. "I guess that is wrong?"

"Yeah! He wanted all the... Millennium things. Sef wouldn't give them to him. Then he kidnapped me to force Sef to give them to him but Sef didn't. He killed me and Sef but we killed him too." Startling blue-green eyes stared out of Joey’s face

"But not before he killed Bakura, the former Isis, Shadi, and Malik." Seto jumped in, leaning back in his chair

"Wait, he killed me? What did I do to him? Is he why I spent 5000 years in that _DAMN RING?!_ " Bakura shouted.

Seto smirked at him. "Yes. As to what you did, you existed. The pharaoh before Yami was our father. Yours, mine, Isis', Malik's, Yami's... and so on. The pharaoh gave the seven items to his first seven born children. Legitimate or not. Nkosi was my younger brother. He held the Eye. However when they saw his flaws, our father took the Eye from him and gave it to our full sister, Adna."

"Then, why did I have the ring, I'm not related to the pharaoh." Bakura pointed out.

Seto closed his eyes in pain. "How did you think you got the ring in the first place? You are the child of the pharaoh and someone. You're the second eldest. I was born a moon after Yami."

"No... I can't be related to him." Bakura slammed his hands down onto the table.

"Sorry but we both are. Depressing isn't it?" Seto leaned back. "Apparently our father back then had several wives and mistresses. You were the child of one of those mistresses."

"I **_REFUSE_** to be related to that... that..." Bakura raged.

Yami stared at them. "You are not alone in that 'tomb robber'! If he was related to us, he wouldn't have had to rob tombs."

Seto sighed and turned to face Yami, his eyes staring off into memory. "You didn't know about him... the pharaoh died before telling us. When someone, Nkosi, started killing everyone who held an Item, you realized that one was missing. We tore everything apart so that we could find something about him, until we found it. A record of the pharaoh's search for him. Born 2 days after you; when his mother died, Bakare disappeared. He had already possessed the Necklace. You searched for him, found him but unfortunately he was murdered soon after. You had him buried in your tomb. Apart from each other so long in life, you dear brother, chose to never part from him in death. Only three weeks did you have with him. You didn't even want to share him with me and he was my brother too. Then again you were always selfish, Hunefer."

Yami started and stared as Seto's eyes darkened to a rich sable. His voice picked up a stilted and bitten inflection. "It has been long time, Seferet, since I was last called that."

"You may have been pharaoh but you will always be Hunefer to me." Seferet stared out of Seto's face.

"I would expect no less... from my brother. Any of my brothers or sisters. Seferet, I am still missing part of my memory. I do not remember Nkosi or Bakare."

"I understand... I had to struggle just to talk to you. In fact, it was so hard that I had no choice but to cast a spell to awaken my Jahi." Seferet looked at Joey, a Joey with blue green eyes. "Jahi, we have found each other again."

"Yes, and I can speak once more. A voice that isn't destroyed." Jahi smiled, his voice lighter and firmer than Joey's.

"I loved your voice, it spoke of your strength to survive everything the gods threw at you. It told a story of your life. Right now, I have not much more strength. Now, Seto and Joey were right, it is Nkosi. He has been reincarnated in this time, such as we have." Seferet pointed to Shadi, "Tjtayu, have you sent the Eye off?"

Shadi bowed, "Yes, Seferet, I have. Yesterday, I felt a new hand on the Eye. Pegasus has done as was needed. All the Items are in their master's control. The final movements need to be decided."

"Good... You must work together. Even if my modern persona is a bit... stiff." Seferet smiled slightly

"Arrogant, stuck-up, bossy?" Tristan piped up the other side of the table.

"You know you don't have to be here, Tristan!" Mokuba shouted at him. Whirling around, he glared at the stranger in his brother's body. "And you, get out of my brother's body!"

Seferet stared at the young man. "So similar... you look like our sister. Tell me does your brother take good care of you?"

"Seto is the best brother in the world. Now let him go." Mokuba leaned forward, his hands fisted. "Let Seto go."

"Little one, I _am_ your brother. We _share_ one body. Believe me, I will release him before any serious harm is done."

"You **aren't** my brother and I want you **out** of him, now!"

"Soon, little one. They need this information, to protect you and if Seto loves you only one grain as much as I love Adna, then he would sacrifice himself for you. Let us finish, so that I may leave all the sooner."

"Mokuba... let him stay..." Tristan smiled weakly at the glare Mokuba gave him. "Look, the sooner he tells us what he needs to, the sooner Seto comes back. Come on."

Mokuba's shoulders slumped and he sat back down. "If you hurt my big brother..."

"I will not. Now Tjtayu... what is your name in this time."

"Shadi, High Priest." Shadi lowered his eyes.

"Call me Sef, you are my sen... my brother. Shadi, do you have my scales?"

"Yes," Shadi reached down and brought up a small bag. Opening it, he pulled out the Millennium Scales. "Here they are."

"Thank you, over the next few days, I will be instructing Seto in his dreams on how to use them properly. It had been a joy to see all of you again. I never thought I would be able to do so. Of all my lives lived... the time I was your brother was the best. Hunefer, you were a good pharaoh. Sacrificing your self, your life, at that time. Allowing yourself to be cut from your soul to save our world. A great sacrifice. Bakare, we didn't know you long enough. When we sent out that rumor to get you to rob our father's tomb. Which you tried and got caught doing so, was our most daring plan. Perhaps this time, Bakare we will have more time. Tjtayu, Shadi, you were always one we could trust. A dependable rock who never let us forget we were family, no matter what politics were going on in court. Naqada, you seem so strange with blond hair and the tan of the sands. I perhaps missed you as much as Adna, loving and delightful. Don't let the pain of this time cause you to lose that. Isetemkheb... Iset, a more devoted follower, no god or goddess ever had. A sense of peace and reason. A complement to Tjtayu. Try to keep them from doing too badly. Jahi, I must go now, this body grows weak." 

"No! I... I miss you." Jahi leaned over, brushing his lip against Sef's cheek. "I love you."

"As I you, but this body belongs to those who live in this time, in this world. We must once again, become part of them. Only a part but a special part. You need to let the young man come back. You would not be a demon would you?"

Jahi bit his lip. "A demon?"

"One who possesses, who steals an other's life, an other's time? What we do now is only for this crisis. To advise and then go back to being simply a part of them."

"But our time was cut short!" 

"Perhaps but it..." Sef swayed for a moment. "It was a glorious time. It was our time and I regret nothing of it. But I won't steal this Seto's time. If I do, he'll never have the experience of love as we have. Retreat now... please?" Sef leaned back, his entire body drooping in the seat. 

"Yes." Jahi sat back, the blue leeching out of his eyes, leaving a hazel-eyed Joey looking around. "Man that was weird."

Seto opened his eyes, memory coming back to him. A snarl on his face, he stood up and strode out. Stunned, they watched as Seto stormed out. Joey pushed his chair back, the legs scraping against the floor. Brow furrowed in concern, he ran from the room.

Mokuba watched and got up to follow. Worried about his big brother, he took off. Or rather he tried to. A tug on his wrist caused Mokuba to look back. "Tristan, let me go! I have to get to my big brother!"

"Mokuba, I think you should let Joey handle this. It's... I know you..." Tristan tugged him back towards his seat.

"He needs me!"

"Mokuba. I have to agree with Tristan. We all know you love your brother. In a way, I understand. However, this is something between Joey and Seto. You can't protect Seto all the time." Yami stated, reaching out to take Mokuba's hand.

"But he needs me. I'm his _brother_!" Mokuba stated, his eyes tearing up.

"I know. But... he's growing up, Mokuba. He has to have more friends, even someone else to love. That'll be Joey. There are truly meant for each other, though I could wish for someone better for Joey." Tristan muttered.

Mokuba turned, his jaw trembling, "What do you have against my brother? Why do you hate him?"

"Because everything bad that's happened in my life since I was 12, in Joey's life has been because of him. And if I... can see that Kaiba needs Joey right now, then you should be able to also." Tristan replied. 

"But..."

"Mokuba, just give them a couple of minutes together. OK?"

"Five minutes."

* * *

Joey slipped out the room. Blinking sleepily, he looked for Seto. A flash of dark blue fluttering just around the corner caught Joey's eye. Walking carefully, he stepped in front of Seto. Seto lifted his head. Dark bags had appeared under his eyes. "Ahhh... Seto are you ok?"

"Of course I am, pup. And if I wasn't, would you care?" Seto smirked tiredly.

"Geez stop being a jerk! Of course I care. And I know how you feel... tired, like your muscles hurt but they don't. Like moving would take more effort than it should. You want to just sleep for a while."

Seto stared at him. "Yeah. Pup, is that why you've been so sleepy lately? Has he... the other one, tried to take you over before."

Joey lowered his head. "I don't know... I don't remember." Joey leaned on the wall, next to Seto. "I'm missing time. Were you able to watch everything? Do you remember anything?"

"Yes, and I can't believe that I was ever related to Yami! How dare he say such?!"

"Because it's true?"

Seto stared at Joey. Reaching out slowly, he brushed his puppy's hair back. "What's wrong, Inu?"

"Nothing."

"Pup! I'm invoking my question now. What is bothering you?"

Joey's eye flashed. "Last night... when you came into the room. I didn't recognize you. I didn't know you. Then it's like I woke up. And I felt safe. Then... it faded out. When I could remember, it was morning. Sometimes I'd look in the mirror and I'd see one eye almost blue and the other is brown."

"Damn... I think he wants to live again. Seferet, my past self, asked Jahi, your past self, to retreat when Jahi didn't want to. He may have been taking control of you before."

Joey closed his eyes, "Seto, why do I get the idea that we're going to fail."

"Don't be pessimistic, puppy. I am Seto Kaiba, I never fail. What's really bothering you?"

"I answered your question." Joey pushed off from the wall, his knees collapsing a bit.

Seto reached out, tugging Joey towards himself. Holding Joey, he smiled at him. Seto leaned down, his free hand cupping Joey's face, his thumb brushing over Joey's bottom lip. "Though I do have to say... my other self has good taste." 

The sound of a door opening and slamming into the wall. 

"Big brother." 

A peculiar look crossed Seto's face. Slowly he straightened up, pulling Joey with him. Brushing Joey's lip, he whispered, "Tonight." Letting Joey go, he walked around the corner, pulling Joey along with him. "I'm right here, Mokuba."

"Big Brother!" Mokuba spun around and ran to his brother, hugging him. "Are you all right?"

"Yes. I just needed to... relax for a moment. I'll be back in a moment. Go back and watch them."

"Are you sure?" Mokuba looked up, worriedly.

Seto smiled at his little brother and stopped down. Hugging him tightly, he ruffled Mokuba's hair. "Yes, I'm sure. Go."

Seto watched as his brother went back into the room. "Let's go get rid of them. Dinner, then we're going to talk..."

Joey stared at him for a moment before following. "Promise me."

"Trust me."

"I do." A flash of blue entered Joey's eyes. " _Seferet_."


	7. Chapter 7

Gin no Umi o Wataru 7

Mokuba walked back in and took his brother's place at the head of the table. "Hey all, Big Brother will be back in a minute."

"Good. It is strange to think now that we were once all related. Great Pharaoh... perhaps this time we can do as we did with Marik..." Rashid suggested.

Shadi shook his head, sighing, "I am not sure that is possible, my friend. For he was obsessed with them before and nothing we did could do helped him, yet we should try. For I understand not wanting to lose another brother." He stated sadly, frightened by the possibility of loosing another brother.

Bakura leaned back in his chair. "I can not possibly be related to that arrogant ass... **EITHER OF THEM**."

Isis laughed merrily, "Yet we are... brother. Now we must find him." She urged, her voice now tinged with worry and fear.

Mokuba leaned back, feeling rather anxious. "Well KaibaCorp has a department of private investigators. We can set them to looking for someone, if we knew something... anything significant about them." 

"Well, they should be about our age, right? And it seems everyone is heading to Domino, like they're drawn here. So we can check teenagers who transferred here in the past year or two. Can they do that?" Tristan questioned as leaned backward, hands behind his head.

"Yes, they can." Mokuba stated, his hand drumming on the table. "So we'll do that but what about... 

* * *

Pegasus leaned back on the couch, his long fingers stroked the velvet wine cloth. Reaching up he ran a hand through his silvery silken hair, he tossed it over the left side of his face, hiding the patch. Only a minor silver thread crossed his forehead, almost the same color as his hair, one would mistake it for a stray hair if they did not know... that it was what held the ignoble eye patch over the empty socket. Running his hand down his dark burgundy robe, he carefully adjusted the edge to show just a glimpse of pale skin. A knock on the door was the signal for him to lean back and turn down the light.

"Enter." Pegasus' voice flowed outward, his words floating through the air like a melody carried on the wind. 

The large dark cherry wood door swung open and a young man entered the room, casually brushing his bangs away from him face. "Hey..." he called out enthusiastically, excited to see him.

"Come here... I've missed you." Pegasus murmured, his voice sliding over his lover like silk. Pegasus raised his hands as the young man approached. Grabbing hold of his silk shirt, he pulled the young man slowly down. For the next few minutes only the slight movements and harsh breathing filled the room. A tan hand fisted in the metallic hair of the older man, tilting his head back. Red lips sucked at the marble column, nipping and biting their way up over the jaw. A moan drifted out of those pale pink lips as a translucent eyelid cover a pale topaz eye. The young man leaned back to stare at Pegasus. The older man was breathing hard, purple marks cover his neck, jaw, and cheek. Smiling, he brushed Pegasus' shining hair back and moved forward, his lips brushed the silver eye patch.

Pegasus jerked backward eyes flying open as he felt his ends of his lover's hair brush against his frosty cheek. Turning his face away, a faint whisper passed his lips demanding. "No. 

"Max... beloved, I'm not ashamed of it. I rather it was gone than you." 

"I know... when everyone else abandoned me, you stayed." Pegasus spoke, his voice surprised. Pegasus brushed the back of his hand against his lover's cheek, flicking a strand of dark hair away from his face, smiling at his lover. "My beautiful one." 

"I've loved you for so long... I would never abandon you. Not even... I would have followed you." The young man voice lowered, becoming hoarse as he clutched Pegasus.

"No... not for me."Pegasus demanded as he leaned forward, brushing a kiss over his beloved's face, tugging a stray lock of dark hair. "Perhaps I should not be ashamed of it, but I'm not celebrating it either." 

"I do... it means you survived to be mine." He whispered softly, grasping the pale hands of his lover in his, gently. "Do you regret that you do not have it any longer?" 

"Regret? No." he answered, solemnly. "I did what I did so that I could see Celeste once more. As I lay in my castle, I saw her. She was angry with me that I took something I should not have. That I caused so much pain. She told me that I only had to open my eyes to see what was before them. So I did."

The young man lowered his head to Pegasus' chest. Listening to the strong heartbeat as he remembered a time when I faltered. One tan hand slipped under the rich burgundy brocade robe, running over his lover's ribs. Pegasus caressed his face lovingly, "I saw you and your eyes, those dark shimmering eyes, my love." His voice stroked over his lovers’ body. "Almost 5 months have passed and I know that it was the right choice." 

The younger man lifted his head and placed a gentle kiss on the bottom of Pegasus' chin. "I almost forgot. Wait." He stood up, heading over to his backpack. "I ordered this for you. It came in today." 

"Ahhh, and what is it?" he asked, curiously.

The young man dropped to the couch and handed Pegasus a black velvet rectangular box. Moving to lean against his younger lover, the billionaire gently opened the case. Sitting on wine dark velvet lay a shiny silver satin patch with a minute design of Funny Bunny was stitched on it using tiny matched seed pearls. Next to it was a strip of satin ribbon with the same design, made even smaller, upon it. Lifting it, Pegasus ran his fingers over it, feeling the tiny bumps. "It's... magnificent beloved." He stared at his lover, eyes wide with pleasure.

"I had the strap for the patch made out of transparent string so that it can't be seen, then we pull your hair back." He leaned down and rubbed his cheek against Pegasus' hair. Reaching around he picked up the eye patch. "Let me put it on. Tilt your head up." He instructed.

Pegasus tilted his head up. Slowly his lover reached under than platinum hair and unhooked the patch. Pegasus stared into his lover's eyes as the young man stared down at him. A smile traced the thin lips of his lover. A small shake of the head and the starfall of hair covered his face again. With a small smile, the young man brushed back the hair. Underneath the shining silk, he could see the eyelid paler then the rest of Pegasus's already pale flesh... the distinct tracery of blue veins crawled over. It seemed to sink slowly into the socket. With sadness in his eyes, he leaned down to press the gentlest of kisses to it, despite Pegasus' whimper. Then pulled the silken shining hair back. Carefully he centered the patch directly over the eye and wrapped the string around his head, hooking it to the other side. Pushing on Pegasus' shoulder, he took the hair tie and pulled it gently back into a ponytail. Gently, he wrapped the tail with the tie and created a large bow. "There love." 

"Thank you. You know I was planning something more..." Pegasus traced one slim finger over his lover's cheek, tugging on the long strand that fell just before his ear.

"Yes but you have that dinner meeting with Asheworth... and I have no intention of leaving here tonight. So after you finish business... I'll be waiting." His lover replied, moving slightly to off the long line of his body. Making it clear what he was going to prepare for Pegasus after the meeting.

"Hmmm no, you won't. Because you are coming with me." Pegasus smiled sneakily, standing up and held out his arm. 

His lover stood up and took his arm, grinning. "Ok... hurry and get dressed! I'll change into something from my room."

Pegasus nodded, kissing his beloved tenderly before heading out.

* * *

Seto stared at the group in the room. Shaking his head, he took Joey's hand and walked back to his seat. Ruffling Mokuba's hair, he waited for his brother to move. As he sat down he noticed a pale blue folder. "Mokuba, what's this?" he asked, a slight frown traveling across his face.

"Huh... oh it's a new student in your class. Apparently he's moved here from England. But that's all they told me. The name sounds family though, but I don't remember where I heard it. Is everything ok, Big Brother?" asked Mokuba, anxiously.

"Yes, Mokuba. After your competition next Saturday, I need to you go to the house where we put Serenity and Mrs. Wheeler. I need someone that I can trust to make decisions if necessary. I'll make sure that someone gives you your assignments every day, ok?" Seto reassured his little brother, caressing his hair.

"Okay, big brother." Mokuba nodded as he moved back to his seat.

Seto sat down, still without taking his hand from Joey's grip. "So have you uncovered anything new or are you still fighting over who is related to who?"

Shadi chuckled lightheartedly, saying. "I believe the pharaoh and our brother have agreed to not kill each other. Other than that we have determined that right now the biggest problems are identifying Nkosi in the present day, determine whether or not he holds this Eye, and how to retrieval of Yami's... or would you prefer Hunefer's memories."

Seto nodded, "I see, how can we discover who is Nkosi now? Are there any identifying marks or peculiarities?" 

"I do not believe so. Only that he prefers to dye his hair a nice blue green. Also, he never wore the Eye in his eye socket. Rather it was placed inset a chain and placed in the third eye position." Shadi spread his hands. "That is all we know and most of that from Seferet. Perhaps he can help. Tonight, if you can, meditate. Hold the scales with each plate in the palm of one hand, get comfortable, and meditate. It should make it easier for Seferet to contact you." Suggested Shadi helpfully.

"I see... does anyone have any other ideas?" Seto asked, waiting.

Around the tables, head shook in reply.

"I see. Well then let me ask this... is there anything that any of you can do to help us keep Joey's other self from taking him over?" Seto asked, his voice cold, he looked at each of them.

"I really don't know... Shadi and I no longer really have yamis like the rest do. And Jahi isn't exactly a... yami." Isis stated, shrugging her shoulders gracefully.

Tristan looked at her strangely. "But I thought there were yamis in all the items. I mean... how come you don't have yamis?" He looked around, confused.

Isis nodded absently, "Well... there are but they don’t have to stay there. You see when I almost died, my Yami decided to help me. To heal me, she had to fulfill the soul. You see the yamis are really souls or rather part of souls. To protect the knowledge, the part of the soul that encompassed the life in Egypt was pinched off and put into the items. In my case, I was injured and I could have healed but not as I was, an incomplete soul. So my Yami had to reintegrate herself into me. So I became more than Isis, more than Iset. We are all greater than the sum of our parts. It didn't mean that I loved Malik less, I loved him more because I remembered not only my brother now, but my brother then. And in both cases was relieved to have him back, to hold him, to just watch him. And Malik's Yami, Naqada, he was damaged by our father. Malik was too young for his Yami, even though he already owned the Rod. Naqada came out when our father carved on Malik's back the hieroglyphics that the Pharaoh needs. Because our feather did not use anything to dull the pain, no anesthetic, I'm afraid it drove him a bit mad." 

Yami stared at him in shock. "Without painkillers?! No wonder he was so violent. I am sorry... Marik, Naqada, that you suffered such pain for my sake. I would never have asked such a sacrifice. EVER! Where is your father now, Iset?!" he demanded, falling back into the pharonic voice of command, he used years ago. 

Marik stared at Yami, eyes wide with surprise. "If you are my brother and pharaoh, then it would have been my duty." 

"Duty should be hard, not undoable! Where is your father? How dare he touch my family!" Yami stood up, his crimson eyes flashing as bright as new blood.

"He's dead, _oh Great Pharaoh_! I killed him for what he did to Malik. Then I told him that you had his father killed. It helped me do what I wanted to do. I may have given up on my idea of world conquest but I will never forgive the damage done to US!" Marik smirked, his sharp face showing a manipulative demeanor.

"As well as you should. May I ask, was his death... painful?" Yami purred

"Yes. So very exquisitely so." Marik leaned forward, a vicious grin growing across his face.

"Then I do not mind getting the blame for it. Have you told Malik that you killed his father?" Yami asked, his eyes still flashing.

"No, nor do I plan to. I rather like him blaming you for it."

"Very well, I'll take the blame as long as you also tell him, I did it because I do not approve of the pain he was sent through, brother."

"That is one thing we can agree on." Marik nodded. "Thank you. For helping Malik."

Rashid leaned closer and wrapped his arm around Marik. Marik moved one hand to cover Rashid's where it lay against his hip.

"I wish I could have prevented it totally." Yami sat back down, his eyes returning to normal.

"Gozabarou was never a good person, but he never did that to me. Did anyone here have a father that didn't abused them or ignore them?" Seto asked flatly.

Tristan raised his hand. "Geez."

"Suffering improves character, right?" Bakura leaned back, smirking.

"Some yes, but too much can break a person." Rashid nodded, tightening his grip on Marik.

"Despite the feel good chatter, the day is getting late." Seto rapped out.

"Correct, Kaiba. I also can not help you, my Yami and I integrated much like Isis and Iset. It was the only way I could ever see again. Perhaps since Joey is good friend with Yugi, Yugi can help. Though Jahi isn't really a yami." Shadi spread his hands. 

"I know my Aibou will be happy to help you, Joey." Yami turned to face him. "After school perhaps... and during lunch."

"Fine, I'll get my team started on searching for Nkosi." Seto stood up, tugging Joey with him.

All around the table the others stood. Isis walked around to her brother, wrapping one hand around his shoulder. "Perhaps next Sunday if there is no problem, we can meet again. Share as much information as possible."

Bakura shook his head but Yami nodded. "Yes that is a great idea. And you're coming Bakura."

"Are you going to make me?"

Yami walked over and grabbed his shoulder. "Yes... brother. As much as we may not like it now, we were brothers and this person killed you before. I will *not* stand by and allow that to happen again."

Bakura looked at him for a moment, before his lip curled and he wrenched his shoulder from Yami's grasp and headed out. Sighing, Tristan walked over and hugged Joey before following Bakura. A few moments later, the sound of voices came through, then the slamming of the front door. 

Isis smirked and nodded at Shadi. Together they bowed towards Seto and headed out. Yami sighed and walked over to Joey. Hugging him tightly for a moment, a bright light flashed and Yugi stood there holding him. 

"I'll see you later, right?" Yugi asked, his eyes bright.

"Of course Yug! Promise. In fact, I'll get up early tomorrow to walk you to school if you want."

"OK! See you tomorrow!" 

* * *

Pegasus stood, his arm around his dark lover, as Asheworth walked towards the door. "It will be a success for both of us, my friend."

"Yes, it will be. I'm glad to have met both of you. This has been one of the most enjoyable business dinners I've ever had. And some of the best company as well."

"Well, yes, I enjoy his company as well." Pegasus drawled as he pulled his lover closer.

Asheworth laughed, as he reached to open the door. "It has been a pleasure to meet you."

"You too, Asheworth." The other young man replied, brushing his black hair back.

"Oh, you can call me Noa. I'm to be in your class starting Monday."

"Really! Cool. Then call me Duke."

Noa reached out and shook his hand, before slipping out the door. Closing it firmly, Pegasus leaned over and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. Smiling, he led his lover to their room.

Outside a dark car glided through the night to stop before Mr. Noa Asheworth. Opening the door, the teenager sat on the dove gray leather seat inside. His eyes fell onto a large flat jewelry case that lay on the seat. Once he closed the door, the dark window that separated the driver from the back seat dropped.

"Sir. It was finished today. The eye is also within the box. He hopes that it fits." The driver stated.

"I see. Very well." Noa reached over and opened the book. Seated in velvet was gold circlet. In the center of the band lay another circlet, this one laying at a 90 degree angle. It looked as if it was to fit something. Beside it lay the Millennium Eye, smiling he picked up the Eye and placed it into the hole on the band. It fit perfectly. Carefully seating it on his head, he pressed it down until the Eye sat right above the third eye.

* * *

8:37

Seto watched as Mokuba kept nodding off. Looking at the clock, he realized it was late. "Mokuba. Bed time."

"But... I'm not tired." Mokuba looked at his big brother, eyes barely open. 

"Maybe not but you need to go to bed now, school tomorrow." Seto leaned down and picked his brother up. "I'll be right back Joey."

"K... hey Seto?"

"Yeah?"

"How do I call Serenity."

"Just pick up the phone and ask the operator for Kita-Dake. They'll connect you." Seto smiled at him as he adjusted Mokuba in his arms. "Back in about 10 minutes."

"K." Joey leaned over the back of the couch to pick up the phone. After a couple seconds the operator picked up. Joey asked for the house at Kita-Dake. A couple burring rings later, the phone was picked up.

"Moshi Moshi." A woman answered.

"Mom, hey. Are you two ok?"

"Joey! Yes, we are. But can you explain what is going on?!" Mrs. Wheeler dropped to a couch.

"Didn't Seto tell you anything?"

"Mr. Kaiba? No... what's going on?" A flop on the other end made her look up and see her daughter sitting next to her.

"Ok... It's... Dad. He's gotten worse and he's gotten into something. I was attacked one day coming home from school. Now Seto's letting me stay here and I was worried about you."

"I see." She reached out to pull her daughter close. 

"I just want to make sure you're safe. The guy was asking me about where something was. Said I had to tell him or he'd make me regret it. He mentioned Serenity." Joey bit his lip, hoping his mom would believe him. 

"Oh, Joey. I should never have left you there with him. Maybe we can go... somewhere." She asked worried.

"Nah, I'm safe here. And Seto put Dad someplace. I just wanted make sure you're OK. How's Serenity?"

"We're fine, in fact she's here and bouncing to talk to you. Here you are." She handed the phone to her daughter.

"JOEY! Hey!" Serenity yelled.

"Hey little sis, what's up?" Joey listened as his sister chattered for a couple minutes. Noticing that I was almost 9, he told her it was time for sleep and to sleep well. Soon she hung up and Joey leaned his head back against the couch. An ache started in the middle of his head, closing his eyes, he tried to breathe deeply, calming himself. Suddenly a young man appeared in front of his closed eyes. He was dressed in a white linen wrap around skirt with a strip of blue on the edges and down the middle. One blue edge wrapped over the other. In the blue were gold designs. The young man was slightly tan with blue green eyes and shoulder length hair.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Jahi. And you are Joey. I know." He smirked

"So you're the one who keeps jacking my life. Look, I'm real sorry you died. You didn't deserve it, but this is my life. Seto is my friend. You can't just take over my life."

"Life? WHAT LIFE? You're so cowardly you won't admit that you want him. You don't fight for anything until it's so far a chance that you can't win. You didn't even fight for your sister until it was almost too late! Then, even then, you had to ask the Pharaoh to do your job." Jahi leaned backwards slightly.

"I did my best. I LOVE my sister." Joey balled up his fists.

"You can't hit me. See... Seferet deserves a man who will be his equal, not a slave. And that me. I'm going to be all he could ever want. And all you need to do, is what you're good at. Give. It. Up."

"No..."

Joey opened his eyes to see worried blue ones staring at him.

"What's wrong?" Seto asked, shaking Joey slightly.

"Nothing."

"PUP!"

"I just had a talk to Jahi. He sort of declared war." Joey pulled his legs up.

Seto sat down next to him, placing an arm around Joey's shoulder, he pulled him closer. "Well... are you going to surrender?"

"No."

"Good." Seto lay his cheek on Joey's head. Rubbing his face against the soft golden hair. "I don't want him to win." 

"He won't." Joey leaned into Seto.

Seto lifted his head, placing a hand under Joey's chin, he lifted Joey's face. Leaning down, he laid his lips on Joey's. A slight tap against his lips caused him to open his mouth. A warmth invaded and proceeded to duel with his tongue. A taste of sweet honey and sesame followed Joey's tongue inside Seto's mouth. Moaning happily, Seto rolled to his back, pulling Joey closer to him. With a gasp, Joey broke the kiss. "This is me... just me, Seto."

A whisper escaped Seto’s lips. "That's all I want... Joey." Seto leaned in, capturing Joey's lips again. _Just you._


	8. Chapter 8

Gin no Umi o Wataru 8

Monday

6:05 a.m.

Tristan sighed as a pale hand stroked softly over his chest. The well-kept hand dipped and dived among the shadowy russet curls. A sweet face hidden behind a cascade of the palest blond hair fell  over his shoulder. The long soft strands mixed in with his dark hair. Soft pink lips suckled at his nipple. Grinning, he sank a large hand into the soft deep hair. He dragged his sweet lover up wanting to see her startling blue eyes, the golden hair fading, bleaching and turning to a pale silvery white. Gasping at this Tristan pulled the white head back and saw warm melted light chocolate eyes staring at him. Stunned, he turned to look over his shoulder at hard bronze eyes.

“Having fun yet, our ferocious sun bear?” The hard man tilted Tristan's face up and kissed him, tasting of sun, sand, and darkness.

 

* * *

 

Tristan jerked up, hitting his head against the wooden headboard of his bed. Groaning, he sat up, rubbing the sore spot. “Man...that was a very...odd dream.” Shaking his head, he turned and sat his feet on the floor, scratching his chest and stretching. Standing up, he let the sheet fall back, his eyes closed. Images of starlit hair, bronze and melted chocolate eyes stared at him, their two faces so similar but so different. The way their hair fells fell; one loose and soft, the otherwith little bat wings. Tristan groaned, one hand stroking his chest and nipples, the other reaching down to caress and stroke his hardening shaft. Falling back to the bed, he reached up and licked his hand until it was soaked. Whimpering he grabbed himself again and stroked. He moaned as he thought of the two pale bodies, twinning around each other and himself. His hand raked furrows and welts down his chest. He stroked himself faster and faster, whispering their names.

“Ryou... Bakare... Ryou... Bakare.” Moaning, he thought of how perfect they would look, their lips touching, tender, gentle, melding into one. So close one can't tell where one ends and the other begins. Clasping his hand over his mouth to muffle himself, he let go. In his grasp his cock jerked and strained, emptying itself over his stomach, coating his chest from sternum to right above his pelvis. Enervated, his body loosened and relaxed. _//I can* **not** * believe I just jerked off to the thought of Ryou and that bastard tomb robber. What the hell is going on? //_

 

* * *

 

6:37 a.m.

 

Joey dropped to his knees. Growling, he threw the trailing edge of the comforter up onto the bed. Ducking his head, he checked for his shoes. “Damn! I'm gonna be late and I promised Yugi.”

Seto watched Joey from the door. “Pup! What are you doing?”

Joey sighed and turned towards him. A smirk covered his face. “You're still calling me 'Pup'?”

Seto walked over, leaning down to stroke the back of Joey's neck. “And why not, you like to chew on things and be petted.”

Joey arced his back at that soft touch. “Like you don't like being chewed on, Seto. But right now I'm trying to find my shoes so I can go walk over to Yugi's. I promised him, I'd walk to school with him today.”

“I see... did you check for your shoes where they are supposed to be? In the shoe closet by the door?” Seto tapped him on the neck.

“Hmmm...” Joey reached under and pulled out one raggedy, much beat up dirty white sneaker.

Seto rolled his eyes and picked the shoe out of Joey's hand by a lace. Tossing it over into a corner, he tugged Joey up, one hand  caressing and nudging Joey from the room. “Look, you can't wear those with these new uniforms. There are some shoes in the closet by the door. Now you have to hurry so your driver will have time to take you over to Yugi's before school. I have to go with Mokuba. Also, I have detention all this week, so after school could you pick Mokuba up?”

“Huh? Driver? What driver, and sure I will! He's a great kid.”

“Driver, do you think no body will notice that you're living here. A good executive driver is needed to make sure nothing happens to you.”

“An executive driver? What he owns stock or something?”

Seto stared at him and smiled. “Actually, all my personal servants do. It's part of their package. The longer they work for me, the more stock they earn. However, what an 'executive driver', is a person that has been trained in observation, evasion, and defensive driving. He's also armed, and waiting outside for you. He'll take you to pick up Mokuba and then bring you to Kaiba Corp, unless you plan to be somewhere else later.”

Joey nodded. A clatter from the stairs caused him to look up and see Mokuba running down the stairs. His uniform was still untucked.

“Cool! Wanted to see ya before you left!” Mokuba hugged him tightly then ran into the dining room. “I'll see you this afternoon.”

Joey watched him go and turned to kiss Seto. “Wow. Ok, see ya tonight?”

“Yeah.” Seto opened the door and watched as Joey slipped into the waiting car.

Five minutes later, Joey pushed open the door and started calling for Yugi. “Yuge! Hey get down here!”

A window on the second floor flew up and a magenta, yellow, and black spiked head poked out. “Alright!” A minute later, Yugi came bouncing out his backpack swinging from his hand. “Wow, we're gonna drive to school?”

“Yeah, apparently I got a driver. Come on or we're gonna be late.”

Yugi climbed into the open door of the back seat with Joey following. Soon they were on their way to school.

 

* * *

 

7:15 a.m.

 

Jahi stared around the room with fascination. For some perverse reason, Joey was struggling to deny him access to his memories. So this meant that Jahi had no idea why young adults in this day and age were herded by bells into these pens. Frowning, he looked at the man standing at the head of the room. He seemed to be on the rather old side. Surely at least 45 if not more, it wouldn't be long before he died. Jahi stared around bemusedly.

The pale gold wood door to the left of the room, opened. Through it walked a young man in the normal blue school uniform, his hair seeming even brighter against the dark uniform than it's already tinted. A soft sea green that curved gently to cup his tan cheek. His head was slightly lowered and his eyelids covered his eyes. Jahi stared at him...for some reason this young man seemed familiar to him. The man at the front of the room tapped on the desk and stood up.

“Class we have a new student...”

A sweet light voice reached out to the class, “Hello... my name is Noa...”

Suddenly the young man raised his face, drawing his lids back to reveal bright turquoise eyes. Jahi stared at him. Seeing him in two dimension. As the student now and as a prince, standing on the pale golden sand, dressed in light blue and white linen. His hair held back with a coronet on which was affixed the holy horn and set between them an orb inscribed with an eye. Kohl rimmed his eyes trailing back towards his headdress. Jahi stared at him, breath escaping him.

Beside Joey, Yugi noticed his eyes were now blue. Frantically tapping Tristan, he pointed to Joey then Seto. Tristan tapped the person in front of him and asked him to tell Seto to look his way. When Seto turned he saw Tristan pointing to Joey. Seto faced a blue-eyed Joey. Suddenly his eyes darkened to indigo and he stared at Jahi until Jahi looked around.

Silently, pointed, he stared at Jahi before speaking into his mind, “Shall I exorcise you here and now?”

Jahi stared at him, biting his lower lip.

Seferet stared at him for a moment before sending another message. “Retreat for now, beloved. We shall be together tonight while they rest.”

Jahi nodded, slowly the blue faded from Joey's eyes and he faced towards the teacher with a concerned and bewildered face. The new boy walked close to Joey on the way to his seat. Joey shuddered and let him pass. When he turned to look at Seto, Seto was packing up.

 

* * *

 

11:23 a.m.

 

Mr. Yiyashi closed the door and walked over to the board, the heels of his shoes clicking rhythmically on the floor. Pausing at the desk, he turned to face them. “Class, this year we are doing something different for History class. For this entire semester, we will learn about Japan in recent history. By that we mean from 1940 to now. However we cannot ignore other cultures, so this semester's term paper is a bit different. On the board here you see a list of 13 dates and locations. I will break you up into groups of two. You will do a research on the time periods, write your research paper, and prepare a workable lesson plan. This will be 60% of your grade this semester.

“Now I know several of you are wondering about the reason for the lesson plan and it's simple. Next semester you will teach your time period to the class. You will have four days to teach the class about your time period and then you will give them a test on the fifth day. It will consist of 90 questions and 5 essay questions. I will of course be on hand to help you with the lesson plan and test. Once your test is given and graded, we will average the classes' grades and that will be your presentation grade. That will be 52% of your grade for next semester.

“The other 48% comes from each of the twelve other groups test. For example, let's say... once averaged your classmates achieve 89 points on your test.” She turned and started to write on the bottom of the board, “Your grades on the other groups' tests average to 75 points. You will multiply 89 by 52% to get 46.28%. Now you multiply 75 by 52% and you get 36%. Now you add both of them and your final score will be 82.28 percent. Simple yes?” She faced the class.

“Now one more thing... starting on the third week from now, every other week we will spend 2 days a week discussing your progress. I know it seems like a lot of work but I have confidence in my students. So here's how you're going to be grouped.” She walked down the first row between two desks, touching two at a time. “Muto and Ishtar, group 2. Eito, Kazuteru, group 12. Asheworth, Shiskata, group 13. Wheeler, Kaiba, group 1.

“Now, let's go to the library and start researching.” He walked over and opened the door.

Seto stood up, picking up his bag and Joey's. Leaning in close he whispered to him, “Don't forget you have to pick up Mokuba today. I have detention all this week.

 

Tuesday

 

6:47 a.m.

 

Ryou waved to the librarian as he walked into the library. He loved the library before school; it was so quiet. He headed over to the reference computer and restarted the search he had been doing yesterday. Humming lightly, he printed out a hardcopy of the list of books and materials he needed. He walked through the stacks pulling several books off the shelves. He knew that he and Tristan could go over them later in class or at lunch. A warm glow filled him at thought of Tristan. Stacking the books at an empty cubicle he went up to librarian's desk and filled out a couple interlibrary loan slips. Then moving gracefully, he sat down at the cubicle and opened a book. Laying his head in his hands, he closed his eyes. _//Bakare? Bakare?//_

_//What?!//_ He demanded.

_//Bakare, what's wrong. You haven't said a thing to me all day. Are you all right? //_ Ryou asked gently.

_//Stop calling me that, you pathetic weakling!//_ Bakura screamed at him.

_//I... I thought you would like it since... it, ah, it was your name but what's wrong? //_

_//Tell me... //_ Bakura's mental voice slid silkily through Ryou's mind. _//exactly how * **thrilled** * you are that w- you have been assigned to work with Tristan? //_

_//Tristan? Of course I'm glad to be assigned to work with him, he's a friend. I can't * **not** * work with him. //_

_//Yeah right. As if you haven't been slobbering all over him since you found out that you have to work with him! As if I can't see what you're thinking. You greedy... selfish... brat! //_

_//But... but... but... //_ Ryou bit his lip, _//You know I only love you. You're everything to me. You know that... you're my yami, Bakare. Why would you think this? Say this? If I didn't know better I would say you were jealous! Tristan is a friend, a good friend... but only a friend. //_

Silence answered his frustrated statement.

_//But you do... know better don't you, my pathetic little hikari. And do you think I do not know how you wish he would be more. //_ Bakura's presence entered his soul room and a deafening silence echoed in Ryou's mind.

Ryou sat there amazed for a second. A whimper crawled its way out of his throat. A soft plop followed as one tear rolled it's way down. Soon its twin and all its brothers and sisters followed it. Suddenly a hand rested on his shoulder.

“Ryou... are you ok?”

 

* * *

 

Tristan headed upstairs, feet slapping on the concrete steps. _//Ryou's really gonna be surprised at me. I mean getting up early and going to the library to research. I can't let him to all the work. Maybe he'll smile again. It's like... Damn I'm not supposed to think about guys this way. Tris...  think of Mai's huge... firm breasts, how the nipple looks... How creamy they are. How pale his flesh is, the delicate tracing of veins right under his skin. His sweet cara- ARGH!//_

Tristan shook his head and thought of his grandmother dancing in a slip to get his erection to fade. Walking through the door, he pulled out the sheet of paper with a list of reference numbers. He loped through the stacks checking for book after book. After not finding the fourth book he headed back towards the librarian's desk. He caught a glimpse of silver hair. Walking over, he noticed his Ry- partner seated in a cubicle. As he got closer he could hear him crying. Kneeling beside him, he laid on hand on Ryou's shoulder.

“Ryou... are you ok?”

Ryou's light brown eyes lifted up to look at him. “Uhh... yes, yes... I'll be...”

“What did he do? Ryou, it'll be ok.” Tristan hugged him, “I promise, I'll make it ok.”

 

* * *

 

12:35 p.m.

 

Joey headed over to the table. Balancing his tray, he avoided other people. Dropping the little cardboard tray onto the table, he dropped into his seat and looked for Seto. Smiling, he looked at Ryou across from him. He noticed that Tristan was sitting beside him, and Tristan... Joey chuckled. _/Nah!/_

Seto sat beside him, one hand stroking the back of Joey's neck. “You aren't going to really eat that slop are you?”

“Hey, it's good food!” Joey picked up the burger and took a bite. Licking his lips, he caught at the juices. “Hey, Tristan, have you done any of the research for your paper yet?”

Tristan swallowed a fry that he was chewing and nodded. “Yeah, I went this morning to get things set up... and Ryou was there so we worked on it for a while. What about you and Kaiba?” Tristan pushed his milk over towards Ryou, nodding at him.

“Well, we checked out his library last night and got some leads on books to look up. But ours isn't that hard so hopefully we'll be done early on.” Joey reached over and took Tristan's bread.

“Hey!” Tristan snatched it back.

Joey sighed and nudged Seto as Tristan put his bread on Ryou's plate. Yugi lifted his face, his pharaoh eyes looking at Joey and nodding.

“Hey Ryou, there's going to be another school tournament soon. Are you going to compete?” Yugi asked brightly.

“No, I don't think so. I need to concentrate on my schoolwork for now, maybe next time. Are you?” Ryou asked, eating his food with small bites.

“Yeah, We're lucky. Malik is from Egypt so he has a bunch of books already plus...” Yugi shrugged and waved to where Malik was coming in. Everyone nodded, they knew Malik's past. How he lived underground. The pharaohs weren't history to him but actual living presences. Yugi stood up and waved at Malik. Malik nodded and walked over.

“Hello Yugi.” He nodded at the others. “Rashid remembered a book on the pharaohs, he's having it shipped over. We should get it next week and...

 

* * *

 

Noa Asheworth nodded as Shiskata rattled on about what he had found out about Greece, pre-Christ. He stared at the group of people seated three rows over. It seemed that pretty boy Kaiba was interested in the foolish blond next to him. Perhaps he could be useful.

 

* * *

 

3:01 p.m.

 

Seto nodded and pushed open the door.

“Yes, I'm sending him now, little brother. Yes, you can stop off to get something to eat but I expect both of you at the office no later than 6.” Seto rubbed his forehead and smiled. “I'll talk to you later, little brother.” Seto closed the phone and looked up as Joey walked closer. Tugging on Joey's jacket, he led him to a corner by the door.

“Not that I mind but others might not like it if we necked in the hall.” Joey muttered, leaning close.

Seto reached up and whacked Joey on the nose. “Baka. I just wanted to remind you that you said you'd pick Mokuba up today. He's waiting and there's a car outside waiting for you. I already told Mokuba that I want him back at the office by six. You don't have a curfew but... I should be eating around six-thirty...”

“I'm there. Now don't ya got a detention to work for?”

“Don't remind me.” Seto nodded at him and turned, quickly spinning back to Joey, he kissed Joey quickly. “You better be. Go!”

Joey laughed and ran out the door. Seto stood and watched to make sure that Joey's driver got his attention. Just before they pulled out, a white limo with a vanity plate reading “Flying” drove by, Duke Devlin sitting it the back. As he raised the window the limo turned the corner, Seto read the back plate, “Horse2”. Nodding, he opened his phone and dialed his office.

 

* * *

 

4:17 p.m.

 

Pegasus looked up, his lover stood in the doorway, wearing a see through robe. In his hands, he held a large glass bowl of popcorn. Duke walked over and knelt on the bed. “Hey beautiful. Got delicious, hot, salty...”

“Popcorn,” Pegs replied, reaching for a handful.

“Nope. Delicious, hot, salty man waiting for me.” Duke leaned forward kissing Pegasus slowly. “I love ya, Maximillion.”

Pegasus' hand fell from Duke's chest. “Truly?” His head bowed, his silken hair falling over his face.

“Yeah, I loved you before this, I love you now, and I will keep loving you until you believe me, Peg.” Duke lifted Peg's face slowly, capturing Pegasus' lips with his own. Sucking and licking until Pegasus opened his lips, he pressed his lover back against the bed, his teeth roaming and nipping the delicate pale flesh of Pegasus' neck. Thrusting his hard cock against Pegasus' he leaned forward. “I was wrong, you aren't salty. You're sweet, like the sweet nectar of the gods.”

Pegasus leaned back, his perfectly manicured nails dug through the flimsy robe and into the tanned shoulder. Duke buried his face in Pegasus' chest nipping, licking, and sucking. He concentrated on leaving visible marks. He wanted to make sure that every time Pegs looked at himself in the mirror, he'd see it. Tonight Pegasus would not forget who he belonged to or how much Duke loved him or how well.

With a final nip, Duke sat back on his heels and pushed Pegasus away. One hand roamed up Pegasus' leg and cupped his warm length. “There's a reason you're named after a horse, beloved.” Duke laughed and leaned forward. Slowly he stretched, showing off his muscles, taunting his lover. He pulled open the drawer and pulled out a small bottle. “Now my love, I am going... to make sure... that you know... deep in that lovely heart just how much I love to love you. My pretty winged horsy. You're gonna ride me, aren't you?”

“Yes, my Duke, my Prince.” Pegasus sat up, taking the bottle from Duke's hand. Pouring some oil into his palm, he curled his hand around his cock. After he slicked it up, Duke watched as he prepared himself.

“Please?” Pegasus whispered.

“Anything for you, beautiful.” Duke brushed Pegasus' hair back and stared into his eyes as he gently lowered his lover.

 

Wednesday

 

8:00 p.m.

 

The zipper rasped as it traveled over the well-satiated bulge, he stretched and patted Wheeler's thigh as he stood up. “That was a nice ride. Though you're getting a little loose in the ass.”

The door open and a slim man in a dark blue uniform came in. “Hey, was he nice tonight?”

“Yeah but his ass is getting loose, maybe we should let it rest for while. Otherwise he's good. Doesn't squeal as much now though.”

“Damn, I was thinking about it all last night. What about that mouth of his?” The new guard walked further in and pulled out a syringe. “It's time for you meds, aww look at that puffy mouth. It's gonna grab my dick so nice and you're gonna love it aren't you.” The guard leaned over and wrenched Wheeler's arm around and pressed the syringe into his flesh. As he did so, he leaned over and gripped Wheeler's bottom lip in his teeth and bit down. Soon a metallic smell and taste filled his mouth. Laughing the guard moved back. “Oh yes, this will be fun.”

A laugh rose as the first guard left the room. He kept laughing until he reached the guard station and picked up the phone. Meanwhile, in Wheeler's room, the harsh sound, the rasp of the zipper moving over the bulge, pulled a whimper from Wheeler. Soon a heavy weight rested on his chest. A thick, sweaty, meaty, rank, and musky flesh pressed against his lips.

“Open up, little whore.”

 

* * *

 

8:02 p.m.

 

10.  Seto sits at his desk in the study, hangs up the phone. Give orders to increase the punishment. Walks to the kitchen and gets a wooden crab mallet and starts hitting his arm.

 

Seto picked up the phone and nodded. “Very well, Iwata. And are you all enjoying yourself?”

Seto smirked as he listened to the man on the other end. “No, Iwata, I don't need anything else. Keep it up for the next couple of weeks. I want him all healed up before I let him out. Got me?”

Seto hung up the phone, smiling. A couple more weeks of this and he'll learn. I do not allow anyone to hurt anything or anyone of mine.

Seto looked up at the picture of Kaiba on the wall. Nodding, he stood up and went to the kitchen. His bare feet moved soundlessly on the tile. He moved through the islands and hanging displays in his kitchen with ease, his eyes flickered one way and another in the darkness. Stopping in front of one of the many drawers, Seto pulled it open and reached in. His fingers wrapped around of the wooden handle of the meat tenderizer. His face blank, he pulled it out and started to hit himself on the inside of his forearm. Steadily the mallet thumped in the darkness.

 

* * *

 

8:00 p.m.

 

11\. Joey picks up his jacket and the small metal hammer falls out of the pocket. Joey frowns and hides it under in a box, afraid what would happen if Seto were to see it.

 

Joey growled as he dug through yet another box. He really appreciated them bringing his stuff over but now he had no idea where anything was. He sighed as another coat fell down, picking it up he put it on the knob of the closet door. A soft thunk to the light gray carpet caught his attention.

Turning, he frowned. In the soft light a small metal hammer glowed like a harsh silver brand. He reached forward, jerking back. Shaking his head he snatched it up and opened the closest box, tossing the hammer in on top of whatever was in there.

_//I have to talk to him about that but I'm never going to let him have that evil thing back. What could bring him... to... //_ Joey shook his head again and left the closet. He could find what he wanted another time. Grabbing his sketchbook and a set of color pencils he went to Seto's room. Climbing on the huge comfy bed, he started drawing his latest dream.

 

* * *

 

10:15 p.m.

 

Seto stumbled upstairs, his arm throbbing. Wearily he pushed open his bedroom door and headed for the bed. His eyes half closed, he didn't notice Joey until he almost sat on him.

“Busy day?” Joey asked softly.

“Yes, we're working on a new game system. Do you think you and the others would beta test it?” Seto sat down, shrugging his jacket off.

“Sure no problem. You can tell us all about it tomorrow at school. Now get to sleep.” Joey leaned over and brushed a kiss against Seto's cheek before rolling off the bed.

As Joey walked past, Seto reached out and grabbed his hand. “Joey... stay. Please?”

Joey stared at him for a moment before nodding. “Ok.”

A few minutes later they lay together in bed, Joey wrapping his arms around Seto. “Good night, Seto.”

“Good night Joey.”

 

Thursday

 

9:15 p.m.

 

Yami tightened his arms around Yugi as Yugi shook. “Hikari are you sure you don't want to go back to bed?”

“Yes, I've been waiting for months to see this...  it's cool!”

“It's scaring you. How can that be fun?” Yami shook his head and tucked Yugi closer, kissing his hair. “Never mind but tell me... why are these people afraid of a huge slug? Could they not just drop a large salt block on it?” Yami asked rationally.

“No cause then the movie would end... just watch.”

Perplexed the Pharaoh sat and watched the movie, wondering when his hikari would go to sleep.

 

* * *

 

9:47 p.m.

 

Duke's breath sounded harsh in the darkness, the lamp beside the bed gave off a pale yellow light that caused his lover's hair to look almost gold. Smiling he pressed a kiss to the firm chest and sucked a nipple. A musical groan caused him to smile.

“Dukey-boy we just finished the most wonderful loving of my life, let me recover.”

“Why... you're young. And so is the night.” Duke leaned back and wrapped one leg around Pegasus'.

“Yes my love we are, but still there are times when I just wish to hold you and wonder...”

“Wonder about what?”

“About how lucky I am to have you... my dashing Duke.”

Duke laughed. “Are you kidding? I was positive you would never notice me, I had to do everything I could to get you. Once I saw you I knew... you were supposed to be mine.”

“So I was...” Pegasus held him close as Duke laid his head over Pegasus' heart. He held Duke and tried not to think of the call Kaiba had made to his office today. No matter what happened, he wouldn't lose Duke.

 

* * *

 

14.  Joey and Seto cuddle. Talk about the past vs. future and whether they are together because of the past or because they wish to be. Joey mentions the hammer when Seto flinches after Joey touches his arm.

 

Seto stared at the TV. 'The Monster that devoured Canada' was playing. Mokuba was on the floor, asleep and Joey was curled up on the other side of the couch with a bowl of popcorn. Joey stared at the television, not even blinking. Moving like a lightening strike, Seto reached over and plucked the bowl out of Joey's hands.

“HEY! Seto... hand over the popcorn and ya won't be hurt.” Joey smiled at the playful twinkle in Seto's eyes.

“No...” Seto leaned back and munched slowly, teasing Joey.

Joey bent over and lunged, Seto held the bowl up and away. After a few moments of struggling, Seto looked at how close Joey was and leaned in, licking Joey's lips. As Joey startled, Seto kissed him. Placing the bowl on the table behind the couch, Seto wrapped his arms around Joey, kissing and teasing.

Joey moaned and pulled away. “Wait... Seto, before we do this, I gotta know.”

Seto looked at him. “I, Seto, want Joey, not Jahi. Yes they lead me to you but I am not one to be told what to do, Joseph. Now, I, Seto want to kiss and taste and touch my Joseph. Is that agreeable with said Joseph?”

“Yeah.” Joey leaned in, lips opening. He kissed Seto gently tongue begging entrance. One hand cradled the back of Seto's head and the other slipped under his pajamas to caress his hip.

A soft noise, followed by a yawn caused them to break apart. Mokuba stood up and headed upstairs, calling over his shoulder, “Night, Big Brother. Night, Joey.”

“Night, Mokuba.”

“Good night, little brother.” Seto stretched, his arms and legs straining. “Why don't we continue this... upstairs?”

Joey nodded and reached over to turn off the TV.

 

* * *

 

11:15 p.m.

 

Iwata walked down the hall, the heels of his shining work shoes, clicking. It echoed in the hall and as it floated down, the inmat... sorry patients, quieted. He knew how they hoped not to attract his attention. They didn't need to worry however, he was having too much fun with his little angel, his little whore. Smiling, he stopped at a plain gray stainless steel door. Sliding a small plate back, he looked in at his pretty whore. Dark blond hair against the institutional green, sliding it closed, he pulled out his large key ring finding the one that was on a green key marker, green... like his precious one's eyes. Opening the door, he walked over and sat on the bed. One hand brushed the careless dark blond hair away from the pretty face. “Wakey, wakey beautiful...”

 

Friday

 

Seferet rubbed his eyes as he took notice of the passing night. Through the skylight he could see a pregnant moon, just a sliver from full. Tomorrow he would stand at the entrance to the temple and there he would proclaim the feast to begin. Tomorrow would be the last days before the Nile swelled and gave forth their bounty. Tomorrow would be one of the holiest days of his life. And his lover, his beautiful pale sand and sea beauty would dance. He would dance in the lightest of linen, flashes of his pale skin peeking through the layers. His hair would glow with a pale golden light. He would dance a dance of thanksgiving to the life-giving water and to the glorious sun god. Seferet though of the long days Jahi practiced, the nights he would seek his bed to find his beloved so tired and sore. The muscles jumping in his arms and legs. Last night was the final night of the practice, tonight Jahi had orders to relax. And where was Seferet? Planning for tomorrow. The first time he would have to see his lover and Sef was going over the final plans for tomorrow.

Behind the distracted priest a door opened and Jahi slipped in. The small chime around his ankle barely rang as he stepped closer. The sheer linen gave a soft murmur as he knelt beside Seferet.

_//Beloved, it's bedtime and the bed is cold without you. //_

Seferet looked at his beloved and pushed from the desk. “Dance for me, beauty. There in the center, under the moonlight. Let me see you.”

Jahi nodded and walked across the floor. It was made of white quarry stone. Inlaid with a mystic design of silver and lapis. A ring showing the different phases of the moon were laid with silver. A ribbon of lapis flowed in the ring, touching the bottom of each phase. Joey knelt, his bronzed skin shining like the sands in the moonlight. His hair, bleached by delicate tanning. Tufts of sheer water blue, grass green, and stone white linen were wrapped around his slim body.

Slowly moving to an inner song and rhythm in his mind, the thin belt that was wrapped about his waist chimed. Jahi danced under the moon, danced with steps that praised the earth, the cradle of life; the Nile, the seed of life; and the moon, the one that guides us all. His skin beckoned the sun with its inviting warmth. The chimes around his ankles sounded their tinkling laugh. A sweet chime that reminded one of children racing through the streets, voices ringing merrily off the buildings.

Seferet stared at Jahi's hands, the gems and rings glinting. Suddenly they stopped before him. Looking up into those gorgeous Nile green eyes he stood up, he took the hands before his face and walked over. Staring into his beloved's eyes, he danced with him. Danced as Jahi would dance with a partner tomorrow.

Soon they slowed, Seferet knelt, wrapping one arm around Jahi and placed a kiss over the tanned swell of his stomach. “I... I need you.”

_//I am yours, I always have been, I always shall be.//_ Jahi slid to the floor, his lips capturing his lover's. Tongues dueled and bickered, twisting about each other. With infinite care, Seferet pushed Jahi down, covering Jahi's body with his own.

_//I need to taste you, Jahi, my love, my soul's mate.//_ Seferet whispered into his lover's mind. Fingers danced over Jahi's slick flesh. Sef sniffed the scented oil, Lotus flower. As the heady scent filled his nostrils, he leaned closer and ran his tongue over Jahi's sweet flesh. His fingers sought catches and let the thin slips of gossamer fall to the floor. His lips roamed and teeth bit on the tender places. His hands wrapped around Jahi's hips, tugging him upwards. With something close to pain, Seferet pulled himself from the absolute feast before him. _//Oil, I must have oil. I can * **not*** , must * **not*** harm you. //_

_//I know, my lord. That is why I prepared myself before I came. I need you as much as you need me. //_ Jahi smiled, his lips turning up at corner. A harsh voice croaked out into the stillness, a voice damaged beyond repair floated throughout the room. A small flash pressed into Seferet's palm. A flask of lotus blossom oil. “Please, we need... let us give them the perfect offering. Let us give them the only thing we truly can, beloved.”

Seferet opened the flask and stood up. Nimble fingers untied the gold belt. Slowly the fine linen wrap fell to the floor. Sef stared at Jahi as he poured the oil over his erection. He stared at Jahi centered in the ring and knelt. He reached out, carefully bending Jahi's leg, leaning forward. With his slick hand, he placed the tip of his cock at Jahi's entrance. _//Beloved.//_

 

* * *

 

Seferet pushed open the door. He moved Jahi gently, stroking his hair. Moving silently he laid his lover onto the bed. He laughed as Jahi nuzzled his hand. “Sleep now, precious. I'm going to get a cloth to clean us up. Seferet straightened up and turned. A flash of white light clouded his vision as he fell to the ground. A streak of sea green flashed across his sight before the dark came.

 

* * *

 

Seferet opened his eyes. The sunlight shone through the light gauze that framed the window. Getting wearily to his feet, he noticed something entangled in his fingers. A couple strands of blue green hair. Rage suffused him. Suddenly he noticed the noise in the background was the sound of people searching.

The door opened and a servant entered, “My lord Seferet, your consort has been kidnapped!”

 

* * *

 

Seto stared and turned around, staring at the priest. “And you think, he would try something similar to this... here, now?”

Seferet nodded. “Yes, already I see on your face the lo- care you have for Joey. And more so because you have never had many outlets to show your care for others. So it may be even more... effective. I am sorry to show you this but I have to prepare you. And now... it is time to wake up, Seto.”

“First, tell me how to keep your boyfriend from possessing _*my*_ Joey.” Seto stared at him.

“You can not do anything. Joseph must keep Jahi in control. I am trying to convince Jahi that this is wrong. If you or Joseph decide to lend us you your bodies, that's something wonderful, but to take over... I do not want him to become a demon. I will fight to keep him from doing so but that is all I can do.”

“I see... very well we will talk later.” Seto closed his eyes.

 

* * *

 

3:23 p.m... Detention

 

Seto opened his eyes, rubbing them with one hand he sat up. Pulling out his phone, he pressed 2 and waited while Joey's phone rang.

“Hey Seto!”

“Joey... where are you?”

“Well we're almost at Mokuba's school.”

“Ok, good. Meet me at the office in an hour?”

“Sure, gotta go.”

“And Joey, be careful. This Nkosi person is still around.

“Yeah, I will be. Later, koi.” Joey hung up.

Seto smirked and started his homework. Absentmindedly he rubbed his stomach as it started feeling upset.

 

* * *

 

Mokuba ran out and hugged Joey. “Hey! I got everything done, you and big brother are coming tomorrow, right?”

“YEAH! Of course we are! And you're gonna win, I know it. Ready to go? You got everything packed?” Joey grabbed Mokuba's backpack.

“Yes...” Mokuba stood for a moment looking at a small gray car that was turning wildly around the corner. Suddenly he felt himself flying through the air, strong arms wrapped around him. A strong hand held him close, he could smell Joey. Several quiet staccato sounds filled the air. As if someone were blowing several spitballs. Then a loud crack and the sound of the car tires squealing as they drove away. The arm released and Mokuba struggled out of Joey's embrace. As he moved Joey's head he felt something warm and thick flow down his hand. Shaking he pushed Joey onto his back.

“Joey! JOEY!” Blood trailed down the side of his face. Mokuba stared at the crimson trail. Someone poked their head out. Mokuba whirled around and screamed for them to call an ambulance. Somewhere a siren started up and Mokuba sat there looking at Joey and wondering how he was going to tell Seto.

 

* * *

 

Seto sighed as he left the detention room. This was the last time he'd ever serve detention. It was utterly _boring_!As he headed towards his car, he felt the phone vibrate. Pulling it out he flipped it open.

“Kaiba.”

“Big brother...”

“Mokuba where are you?! I can barely hear you.” Seto demanded.

“I'm at the hospital, I'm so sorry big brother...”

“The hospital? Are you ok?!” Seto ran towards his car, yanking the keys out of his pocket.

“Yes, but Joey... Joey... he's hurt bad, they say...”

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

Gin no Umi o Wataru 9

Seto's shoes clicked in a precise rythm. It was exactly 22 steps across the room. Click. Click. Click. In precise beats, Seto paced. Mokuba stared at his big brother and curled up on one of the white hard molded plastic chair. He turned around, staring at the others. Yugi sat on another chair, dress, his legs swinging dispiritedly. Tristan leaned against the wall, his school uniform in disarry, a scowl upon his face. Ryou sat, worried and silent, by Rashid who was stroking Malik's pale blond hair. Malik's eyes were closed as he lay across three chairs, his head pillowed in Rashid's lap. Also in the room was a slim young woman. She watched all the young men as they waited for word of thier friend. She stood up, smoothing her long red silk skirt. Sighing, she walked over to a sliding two part frosted window. Her well manicured clear polished nails tapped the glass.

A young man slid the glass back. Seeing her, he nodded. "I'm sorry but he's still in surgery. Unitl he gets out and the doctor tells me how it went, I can't say anything. However it shoud be over soon. I'll tell the doctor you're waiting for Joey, ok?"

She nodded and moved to sit down again. 

* * *

Asheworth smiled as a servant placed a plate of steaming food before him. Lifting his glass he toasted his dinner companions. “To our future alliance gentlemen.”

Duke and Pegasus toasted Asheworth and started to eat. In a few moments laughter could be heard from the room. The three ate heartily. Soon after they finished they headed inside to a large room. The floor was covered with tatami mats. Overhead an oval was cut out of the roof, moonlight drifted down bleaching everything to silver and gray. Underneath the oval was a small table sitting low on the mats. On top was a small white bottle sitting in a small curved bowl. Beside this was a set of thin porcelin cups. Asheworth let the others enter before him and knelt by the table. Carefully he poured a small amount of clear heated liquid into each cup. Reverently handing a cup to each guest, he sipped gently. The rice wine burned its way down his throat.

They sat in silence savoring their rice wine and the night.

Little over an hour later, Duke and Pegasus were snuggling in the back seat when the phone rang.

* * *

Pegasus opened the door and waited for his lover to pass. A frown twisted on his face as Duke strode by. Duke stopped in front of Seto. “Hey, we just fot the message. Have you called Serenity, yet?”

Tristan pushed away from the wall. “I tried but I didn’t get an answer. I hope she’s ok.”

Mokuba looked at him. “She’s fine. Seto put her and her mother someplace safe...”

A dull thump sounded as the door opened and closed behind a man in a light blue surgical scrubs. “Ummm hello, who is here for Joey?”

Seto strode up to the doctor. “How is he?”

“You are...”

“Kaiba... Joey is under my supervision.”

The doctor smiled and looked around. Seeing the young woman in her business suit. He walked over. “Excuse me but are you the adult in charge. A small smile crossed her face.

“I work for Master Kaiba...” She moved her slim leather breifcase between them, she took advantage of his position and had him hold the case as she pulled out a sheaf of close typed pages. “As you will see here, Joey Wheeler has been given into the hands of the same people who are the guardians for Master Kaiba. These people all work for Kaiba Corp, so they work for Master Kaiba. In essence I suggest you apply yourself to answering all of his questions.”

Seto tapped the doctor on the shoulder, his usual disdaining grin gracing his face. “Well?”

The doctor’s smile remained fixed tightly as he turned around. “Your... _friend_ is lucky. He wasn’t shot badly, it was in and out. Instead, the most serious wound happened when he dove for the ground, he hit his head. Now head wounds are tricky and the reason we sent him into surgery is that we need to make sure the pressure from swelling doesn’t grow too great. He’s slipped into a coma which is really the best thing for him. It’s our body’s way of shutting down for maintence. I’ve left orders for him to be taken to a room. In about an hour you can see him for a few minutes.” He nodded and left.

Seto nodded. Finally noticing Duke and Pegasus. “Busy?”

Pegasus smiled, “Actually, we’re dealing with a new company and had a business dinner. In fact I’m sure you know him, since he is in your class... Noa Asheworth?”

“No... I don’t know him.”

* * *

Joey moaned. Opening his eyes he stared up at the silvery moon. Groaning he stood up and looked around. On the wall were several torches. Bundles of pale brown reed bound together with dark brown twigs. They threw dancing shadows on the walls. Joey walked over, his hands skimming over the golden stone of the walls. An eerie suspicion floated in his mind. Turning he raced to the center of the room. The light from the moon shone down onto a mystic pattern inset into the floor. He knew where he was now.

_Took you long enough, Joey_. A voice said, inside his mind.

Joey turned around to stare at the person who spoke. A young man dressed in a simple linen skirt stood there, his blue green eyes shown under his pale blond brows. Joey nodded. “Hey, Jahi.

* * *

Seto sat in the hard curved orange plastic chair in the waiting room. Beside him was a small bag. Inside were the scales. Those infernal scales, for some reason he had brough them. His hand rested on the bag and through the cloth he could just feel the round ball that was embossed with the millenium eye. He closed his eyes... 

And opened them on a blue sky that was appeared to be swept clean. A few trailing lengths of clouds. He pushes himself up and looked at where he had been laying. A soft coverlet of grass stretched almost to the horixon, Seto turned in a circle. Trying to the limits of this... place. Perfectly circular, it was a patch of grass inside a cup of tawny sand. He looked up again at the flawless sky and sighed. A smile tugged at his lips and he sat down, legs slipping easily into a lotus seat. A shadow fell over him. Seto lifted his face. “Hello Seferet.”

“Hello Seto, we should talk. How is Joey?” Seferet sank beside him. Now that he wasn’t standing over Seto, Seto could see what he was wearing. A long skirt of white almost transparent linen with its borders trimmed in designs of gold, purple, and green. A smile graced his darkly dusky skin, his dark eyes saddened. 

“Coma. The doc said it was best.”

“Coma?”

“It’s a state where the body has beeen so damaged by trauma that either the mind or the body or both can’t cope. So it shuts down all nonessential processes and tries to fix itself. It’s tricky now... because our medical facilities will emplace machines to do the body’s work. A way of relieving pressures but the body can become dependent on them and forget how to run itself. So it’s a delicate balance.” Seto looked at him.

“Then he may die yet? I am sorry, I do not wish you to suffer what I did for even a moment.” Seferet reached out and laid his hand on Seto’s.

“No... they think the reason he’s in a coma is because of the swelling of the brain. He saved Mokuba. Saw the car and dived, his chest hit Mokuba in the face but he wrapped both hands around Mokuba’s head to protect it from the stone steps. When he hit, he was cueled around Mokuba and his head, the top, hit the corner of the steps. He... saved Mokuba.” Seto trailed off brokenly.

“Here, in this place, my other soul, you can cry and no one will know. This is our place.” Seto bit his lip. Seferet could almost see the armor rebuilding. “ _SETO_... this place exists in your mind, in our souls. In this place there are no lies. I know you love Mokuba. As much as I love Adna. For they are the **same** person. However this is in Jahi... Joey’s character. He will do such for those he loves. As he loves you.”

The two sat facing each other. Seferet reached out and took Seto’s hand. “Now let’s talk about Nkosi... he’s starting again. He tried this before.”

* * *

 

Saturday

_// “You have to go, Mokuba. I won’t let them win. I won’t have him think we are afraid of him. And you want to go, I know it. I’ll be there, just give me an hour to deal with the hospital but you need to go set up for your presentation”._

_“I know but...”_

_“Joey’ll be fine and so will I, I’ll see you in an hour, ok little brother?”_

_“Hai.” Mokuba rushed over and hugged his older brother before giving him a brave smile. As he left, however, he felt afraid. He knew they had to show they weren’t afraid but he was.//_

Mokuba sighed as the car moved quietly along the road. He hadn’t wanted to leave but Seto was right. He couldn’t show this Nkosi that he was afraid. He would treat this as if Nkosi was nothing! Hopefully, it wouldn’t prompt him to do something even more evil. He stared out at the people walking along the street. Any of them could be Nkosi... And Joey and Nii-sama couldn’t know.

Tears formed in his eyes as the car slowed at the stop light. Just across the intersection the school sat, squat, a dark brown box against a bright sky. Mokuba hated leaving his brother, he couldn’t stand it. Making up his mind, he waiting until right before the light was to turn and opened the door. Running out, he headed to the bus stop he had seen.

The driver saw a flash of dark hair leaping from the back seat, frantically he stepped on the brakes. The car spun, its tail swinging wide. The driver jumped out of the car, leaving it idling. He ran to catch Mokuba as the ground started to tremble. A flash of terror ran across his face as he gave forth a huge burst of speed and tackled Mokuba, covering him as flames rolled out from the parking lot of the school. Mokuba struggled to see what was happening, finally he stood and stared... pieces of pavement were everywhere. Their car was crushed. The school was burning. Mokuba stared shocked. The driver wrapped his arm aroung Mokuba’s waist and held him for a moment. Then he pulled out his cell and called his boss.

“Master Kaiba... there’s a problem. Mokuba’s school...”

* * *

Seto nodded as the driver told him what happened. _//Seferet... he tried to kill my brother again!//_

_//Ahhh, we need to bring everyone together and figure this out.//_

_//I’ll have them come to the house. He’s gone **way** too far.//_

* * *

He lifted the fragile translucent porcelin cup up to his lips and sipped on a fragrant mixture of his own devising. Noa savored the strong sake mixed with the subtle green tea. A red glow shone on his face. He raised his slim hand and pointed a high tech remote at the screen inset on the wall. Nodding, he watched as a camera caught the dark car heading towards the squat ugly school building. A glint of a gun barrel threw of shatters of light. The gunner carefully aimed about six inches over Mokuba’s head and started firing. Joey stood stunned for a moment on the screen before he leapt towards Mokuba and curled over him, protecting him. A final burst spat out as the car drove away.

Noa leaned back, a smile twisting across his face. A low chuckle floated throughout the room as he skipped to the next scene. A more recent one. A large black car came into focus. It purred as it drove down the street. It stopped perfectly on the line as it waited for the light to turn to green. A young boy with wild jet hair jumped out the back seat. The car started off and then screeched to a halt. The end fishtailing around. The driver dressed in a dark suit jumped out, leaving the car idling in the middle of the intersection as he scrambled to chase after the young man. Behind them a plume of red and yellow flame shot up to be followed by a mushroom cloud of smoke. The driver tackled the young man and covered him as a rain of small pieces of asphalt rained down. The back of the driver’s suit smoldered and smoked, yet he didn’t move at all. After the debris stopped, he stood up and helped the young man stand. One arm wrapped around the young one’s waist for a quick hug and the driver pulled out a cell phone.

* * *

“Mr. Kaiba?” A flunky in Kaiba Corp royal navy blue walked up to him.

Seto looked up from where he sat holding his little brother, “Hai?”

“Are you finished with the file on Asheworth, sir?” The flunky asked softly.

“File? What file?” Seto stroked Mokuba’s soft hair. It fell like a dark waterfall over his thigh where Mokuba had his head. Seto stared at his sleeping brother before looking up at the flunky. “Well?”

“Yes, sir. Last week I delivered to Master Mokuba, a file on your new classmate. Noa Asheworth. It was immediately preceeding your meeting with your other classmates. I do have a copy with me in case yours went... astray” He offered a slim powder blue folder. 

Seto stared at it, the color signifying that not only was this Asheworth a classmate but a competitor. Seto nodded and waved the flunky away. Seto opened it, moving slowly so as to not wake up Mokuba. He leaned back and read.

\-- Appeared on the scene at the age of eight, after a long childhood illness.

\-- Parents deceased.

\-- Born in Japan but raised in England.

\-- 16 years old.

\-- Avid gamer. English Duel Monsters Champ.

\-- Speaks 8 known languages.

Seto flipped through the various articles collected on him, including the one announcing a partnership between North Ocean Avionics and Industrial Illusions. Nodding he finished the file, and turned the last page to see what his opponent looked like. A handsome young man with a pointy chin and wide aqua eyes stared out. A smile was twisted on his face and his aquamarine tinted hair fell in his face. Inside Seto, Seferet awoke and stared at the picture.

**_//NKOSI!//_ **

* * *

Seto stared out the window. The velvet sky was sprinkled with stars. Seto didn’t know what had happened to the small mallet Gozabarou had given him... that was worth another 15 minutes on top of the punishment for his neglect. If... if he had just read the file when it came in, he could have protected Mokuba. Joey wouldn’t be trapped in a coma.  He ran his thumb over the carved lines in the small hammer he had picked up from the kitchen. They describe a crab.

//It’s all my fault. I’m a terrible brother, a worse friend.// Seto stared outside. He raised his right hand and rolled up the sleeve of his shirt. Once the pale flesh of his forearm was reveal he stared at a point right in the middle and hit lowered the hammer. In the background he could hear Gozabarou saying “Harder. Faster. You failed, you miserable child. You’re worthless! FASTER!”

The hammer blurred in the darkened room. Faster and faster.

* * *

Mokuba opened blearly eyes and stretched. “Nii-sama?” 

He rolled off the couch and headed to Seto’s office. Scritching his cheek, he poked his head into the office. Seto stood, looking out over the grounds with his back to the door. Mokuba smiled and moved quietly over towards Seto. As he came closer he could see a flash of silver.

_//No...  please not again. Oh Nii-sama, I hate him for doing this to you, I hate him.!//_

Mokuba teared up as he remembered a time, a few years ago when Gozabarou made Seto do this so long and so hard that Seto actually broke his own arm. Seto told Mokuba nothing was wrong but Mokuba knew. He knew what Gozabarou was doing was wrong but who’d believe a child. He bit his lip as he thought how many time over the years, he would slip the mallet, that godsforskaen mallet that... that bastard made Seto use out of his brother’s hand. Mokuba walked up and wrapped one arm around Seto’s waist, he stared up into Seto’s blank eyes. His other hand reached up and closed around the head of the hammer, slipping it from Seto’s grasp. “Nii-sama, will you sleep with me tonight. I’m...”

Seto shook all over and looked down into the blue gray eyes, “Of course, Mokuba. Give me five minutes?”

“Hai Nii-sama!!” Mokuba hugged Seto quickly and ran off to his room. The mallet was in his pocket, the head banging against his thigh.

* * *

Jahi pushed off from the wall and slinked over to Joey. _//So tell me, are you going to cry, Joseph? Are you gonna tell me about how hard it is to get back! You’re pathethic. Seto deserves a true man. He deserves...  somoene like me. Someone who would... treat him right. Someone who does tease. Someone who will fight beside him. And that’s definitely **not** you... coward.//_

Joey stared at him. “Just shut ‘yer mouth! Seto doesn’t want you. Even your boyfriend told you to get out! You... you...”

_//He’s not my boyfriend, he was my husband... as in MARRIED. Something you’ll never have with Seto because yo’re too afriad to tell him You never fight for what you want you just expect others to give it to you! Tell do you ever win any shadow games on your own?//_

“Yeah I do... what about you?” Joey smirked.

_//Then I challenge you... to shadow game. A shadow game for the custody of your body.//_ The room darkened and lightened.

Joey looked around, the room had changed. It was huge with a vaulted ceiling. The moon still shone down onto a huge stone field. It looked much like the playing field that were used in modern tournaments except that they were stone. There were two rows of seven boxes. Starting at the top, first came a box which was rimmed in lapis lazuli, next the five boxes trimmed in bronze, and last a box trimmed in silver. Below that were another seven boxes, lined up with the ones above. The first trimmed in purple stained granite, the next five were trimed in gold, and the last in yellow stone.

_//As you can see, it’s not that dissimilar from the game you know... stand in the circle of moonstone over there and I’ll stand in mine. Set your cards like usual and we’ll play.//_

“And if you lose?” Joey stood waiting.

_//Then I help you get Seto right where you want him.//_

“Let’s duel then!” Joey walked to the shimmering circle. A flash of light and a deck of cards appared beside Joey. Taking a breath he drew.

* * *

Duke wrapped his arms around his lover, a stiff formal cream colored invitation in his hand. Duke ran it over the smooth chest, around a nipple, then down the midline. “So are we going?”

“We have to... besides it would be interesting to see what Kaiby-boy is up to...” Pegasus looked at the silver engraved invitation. It had been delivered today... but what was interesting is what it says.

“Actually I’m more interested in how it says it, and I rather do what it says.” Duke rolled over and moved up to kiss his lover

The invitation fell to the floor.

_The Kaiba Corporation cordially invites_

_Mr. Duke R. Devlin and Mr. Pegasus J. Crawford_

_To the premiere of_

_Legendary Heroes_

_A video game based on the game_

_Magic an dWizards_

_Press conference_

_And_

_Queition and Answer Session to Follow_

_Sunday March 25th_

_2:30 p.m._

 

* * *

Iwata stared at his angel. The blonde hair had darkened since it had been a week since it had kissed by the sun’s light. Gently he knelt by the bedside of his angel and leaned over. He brushed his lips over the angel’s cheek, down it’s neck, back up it’s neck and placed one kiss right over where it’s lips would have been, if it had not been gagged.

“I’m so sorry to do this to you Angel, but I can’t let you tell about us. They’d take you from me. And I can’t let that happen. I’m going to talk to Kaiba... he’ll let me keep you. Yes... he will... he has to...”

Mr. Micheal Wheeler stared at the young Asian man next to him. And he shuddered with the thought of being left in his hands. He also knew for the first time who to hate... Kaiba.

* * *

Ryou curled up, hugging his pillow. He could hear Bakura in the next room, preparing to come to bed. No matter what happened today, he could not cry in front of Bakura. Ryou didn’t want to give him one reason to call him weak or pathetic. Biting his lip, he stopped his sobs, though the tears still ran down his cheeks. A slight dip in the mattress meant that he wasn’t alone anymore. Ryou stayed still. A cool hand wrapped itself around his shoulder and he was rolled over. Ryou could feel the cool flesh of his Yami beneath his tear soaked cheeks. A familiar hand stroked his hair, instead of hitting him.

“Shhh... sleep now.” 

The calm movement lulled Ryou to sleep easily. Bakura stared up at the ceiling until the deep breathing of his hikari became regular.

Sunday

2:57 p.m.

Seto nodded as his beta gamers finished anothre level of ‘Legendary Heroes’. Nodding at Mokuba, he stood and walked to the podium.

“As you can see, it’s a fully realistic virtual world, a great step into the future of video gaming. Yet this is not just for games, its uses in therapy, education, training are limitless. To this end, I have donated 10 of these pods to Domino University and to the Austistic Learning Center. Now we have a few minutes scheduled for questions then,” Seto smiled fixedly, “it’s time to eat. Yes. Aiki.”

A young woman stood up and nodded genially to Kaiba. “Mr. Kaiba, how do you expect this to be used in therapy?”

Seto nodded. “Well these pods have a ‘blank’ setting. During this, a world may be created from the imagination, the psyche of the person in the pod. This could then be seen by therapist and hopefully we can intergrate the person back into this world. Ichiro.”

This time an middle-aged man stood. “Mr. Kaiba, in the past two days, a friend and classmate of yours was injured protecting your brother and your brother’s school was blown up. Is this connected to any of your new projects or developments?”

“No... There has been no new information on why this happening. It could possibly be simply because Mokuba is heir to the Kaiba Corporation. As for Wheeler, he is receiving the best care possible. As for those who were injured in the attack on my brother, I feel a debt is owed. One that can not be repaid. However I have agreed to accept the bills for their hospitalization and recovery. For those who died, I am taking on the bills and arragements of their funerals. This does not in any way lessen the debt this person has incurred. Their dishonorable ways have caused the deaths of innocents. If they have a problem with the corporation, then they should deal with me and me alone. Yuki.”

A spindly too tall old man stood up. “Yes, Mr. Kaiba, This game is based on Magi and Wizards, yet it seems rather... advanced for the age group targeted.”

“Those my age are not by any means dumb. They are merely understimulated. This game will teach problem-solving, synthesis, and non-traditional thinking. It’s fuzzy logic will allow it to tailor the game to the people playing it. Which means... strategy guides and so forth are useless with this game. Over 450 land maps, 5000 problems, and games can last foras little as 2 problems or many as a hundred. There are no fixed solutions. It will always be a new game.”

An excited murmur ran through the crowd of reporters and invited guests. Seto watched approvingly and searched for another reporter to call on. “Aizawa.”

“Thank you. Mr. Kaiba what is your response to the claims made by persons unknown that you are the true blood child of Gozabarou Kaiba? And that Noa Asheworth is your brother?”

Seto stared at him. Behind him Mokuba looked up at his brother. The entire hall was still. // _What?! How dare he say... that fiend is related to me! This has to be Nkosi’s work!//_

 


	10. Chapter 10

In the Shadow Realm Jahi stared at Joey. "Draw, child!"

Joey nodded and drew. He looked at the cards he drew: Wall of Illusion, Scape Goat, Fairy Box, Alligator Sword, Pot of Greed. Nodding, he stared down at the board. In front of him appeared 14 glowing squares, similar to the ones on the ground. He chose the magic card, Fairy Box, and placed it face down. Smirking he placed Alligator Sword face up, "Your go!"

Jahi nodded and drew his first five cards, "Thank you ever so much... puppy!" 

Jahi stared at his cards. Two trap cards, Bottomless Trap Hole and House of Adhesive Tape, and 3 monster cards, Exiled Force, Armored Lizard, and Minar. Biting his bottom lip, he set one trap, and flipped Exiled Force up. Smiling at Joey, he reached for a card. "I'll set this card, face down, puppy and I'll sacrifice my Exiled Force to destroy your Alligator Sword."

Joey shook his head and drew. Axe Raider. He set it and placed it in attack mode.

Jahi negligently flipped over his trap card, Bottomless Trap Hole. Axe Raider stared in shock as a hole opened below him, he screamed as he fell, into the abyss.

"Oh dear, anything else?" Jahi smirked. 

Joey turned set one card and leaned back. "Yer not gonna win..."

"Really? I think I will..." Jahi smiled as Joey drew his next card.

* * *

3:34 PM

Seto sat hugging his younger brother, one hand stroking it's way through Mokuba's silky hair. A knock on the door startled him, frowning, he yelled, "Come in."

An older man entered. He stood no more than about five feet two inches; his stark white hair was cut in a simple style that lay flat against his skull. It framed a face that looked to have spent more time smiling than otherwise. His skin was pale underneath small gold-rimmed half circle glasses. He was dressed in a formal red silk kimono with crimson cherry trees embossed on it. He bowed to the brown, smiling widely. His teeth were small tan stained squares of enamel. "Hello, Kaibas-san. I am sorry for the delay, I was at my son's grandson's wedding. Is there a VCR available?"

Seto nodded at this man, a person he hasn't seen in years and stood up. He slid Mokuba to his feet and wrapped one hand over his shoulder. He gently maneuvered his brother towards the inner room of the office they were in. Sitting on a blue leather couch, he sat back and pulled Mokuba down beside him. He watched Housou walk over and push in the tape. The lawyer turned on the TV and moved back.

On the screen snow started and was replaced by a young woman who appeared to be in her late 20's. She was dressed in a dark navy suit. Her dark brown hair cut in a short feathery look, as she leaned back it was obvious that she was well into her pregnancy. She smiled into the camera, "Hello, Seto."

"Mother." He whispered and pulled his brother closer.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

"Hello, Seto... my son. And hello to you too, my beautiful and precious little one. If you're watching this then for some reason we can't be here to tell you about this family secret. Housou, thank you for watching out for my children. We have instructed Housou to show you this tape if and _only_ if you have reached 21 or that someone is questioning seriously your parentage. You see Seto... and my as yet unborn child. I don't even know if you are a boy or a girl yet. If you are a girl, you will be named Sakura; a boy, Mokuba." She ran her hand over her stomach, smiling. "As you know my dear Seto, you are blood type A, I am O, and your father is B. So you knew he couldn't be your birth father. As to that, well, you see, your father and I tried for years to have children. We met as children, grew up together, fell in love with each other, and married right out of high school. I got a job at Kaiba Corp immediately and they helped pay for my college education at Todai. 

"Your father got a job with the police force and five months later, I was pregnant. I... lost your eldest sister when she was at 4 months. Then followed another girl at six months, a 7-month boy. Finally we sought help and found out that we could never have a child together. This came to the attention of Kaiba who suggested that we seek help at a secure genetic facility. We took his advice and sought help at the 'Goodkind Clinic '. They preformed an assessment on me that included my age, blood type, intelligence, genetic inheritances, and came up with a few sperm donors.

"Yes, sperm donors. It was the only way and we so wanted children. Please my loves do not doubt that you are our children. We love you so much." She looked at someone behind the camera and stroked her stomach. "I don't know what else to tell you, or how to make this knowledge easier... except to assure you both that you are so wanted."

She stood up and the camera stared at the swell of her stomach.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Seto held Mokuba tighter, fingers gently playing against the little tufts of hair that lay on Mokuba's neck. He leaned down, "I remember mom. She was so pretty and she looked so much like you. You were a quiet baby. Almost never kicked mom during pregnancy and slept like an angel." 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

A noise sounded as the young woman walked off the screen and a young man took her place. His hair was jet black with some early white sprays woven within. His eyes were large and dark dark blue; his skin was sun-darkened and leathery. He wasn't handsome but rather he looked trustworthy. He waited until a door closed. "Hello Seto... and Mokuba. Yes, Mokuba, I already know that you are a boy. Seto told me. Nadi was asleep and Seto crawled up there; he laid his head on her stomach and looked at me, then said, 'I love my Mokuba, tou-chan.' Later I found out that he was right. You are a little boy. So let this reassure you, my youngest son, your brother has looked out for you at every step and his love for you predated your birth. I know he is looking out for you.

"The reason that I waited for your mother to leave is because of ' _what_ ' I found out about your sperm donor. I refuse to call him your father because **I** am your father. I will raise you, I hope. I will be there. It started when you were about five, Seto. Your mother and I were invited to a company picnic, we went and took you. Your mother was pregnant and you were playing with several other small children. I took some pictures of you and the other playing. After the pictures had been developed, I decided to include them in a bunch of other pictures that were part of a project I was helping your mother with. 

"She was working on a face and feature recognition program for Kaiba Corp. It would be set to recognize people but also it would try to find relationships in groups of people. It could say that specimen A and specimen B had 97% chance of being related on a first level. In simple language, that they are siblings. Imagine my surprise when it told me that pictures of you and Noa Kaiba had a 99% of relativity. The more I stared at the pictures, the more it seemed that it could be you. 

"So I did something that is no doubt illegal and hacked several databases. I discovered that Noa Kaiba had his DNA profile done as part of our school kids program. You see it was a new idea, but a good one. Every child would submit to fingerprinting, photos, and a DNA profile to be kept on file with the national police department. I joined the squad and helped them collect over a dozen schools. I asked a friend in the DNA lab to run matches. I came up with no less than two dozen. I investigated some of them. Each had certain... similarities.

"The mother was between 24 and 32, their IQ's were qualified as genius level, and healthy. Also their genealogy, all were Japanese for the past 4 generations. Seto, Mokuba this means you have no less than 25 siblings... one of who is conclusively Noa Kaiba. You are Kaiba's children. This scares me more than anything because I know our Seto is a very intelligent young man, interested in many things and his IQ is extremely high. And I'm sure Mokuba will be too. I don't want Kaiba to ever get his hands on you. And he can do it. Since you are both his blood children. 

"I love you both so much, this fear is one I will never share with your mother, she doesn't need to know it. I also think you will see this tape after our death; it isn't too hard to track down who discovered this. If he finds out, he won't hesitate to kill me. So I might as well tell you what else I've discovered. I've hacked the Goodkind Clinic and found Kaiba used the clinic as a breeding station. A way to make sure that he will have a crop of young people incase anything happens to his son. He's not one to depend on one and only one heir. Be careful and protect your brother, Seto-kun. Moku-chan, never doubt our love, my beautiful and wonderful sons. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 

Mokuba turned and looked up at his brother. " Nii-sama? We're... K-K-Kaibas?"

Seto turned and looked at him, "Doesn't matter if that bastard did contribute to us genetically, we had the best parents in the world in mother and father. Without mother and father we wouldn't be brothers. Kaiba didn't believe in brothers, mother and father taught us to be so."

Housou nodded. "Of course you are the children of your parents. The only thing Kaiba contributed was genetic material and that was without their permission. They did not choose Kaiba's material, he used your mother's material because he believed that a child of the two of them would result in what it did result in... a young man of skill and intelligence. However young Mokuba, you must understand that as far as your mother is concerned you are hers and your true father's children." Housou knelt before them. "Remember this... please. Now we have to deal with what will happen when the news breaks."

"And what to do about the other children." Mokuba leaned against his brother.

"If you will forgive the presumption, I suggest you break the news of what Kaiba did and how you are offended by his actions in treating people like pawns. Offer the other children training in the diverse components of Kaiba Corp, use them as trusted advisors. Give them a sense of the company. Every child who agrees to work in Kaiba Corp should receive one percent of the company. This way they have an incentive to work for the better of the company. Give them a reason to be loyal to you and only you. In this way, you may outfox Noa... for I am sure it is he who released this information. I believe he's trying to shake the foundation of trust in Kaiba Corp. Gather your fellow half-siblings around you to create a shield, (the comma is not needed) he cannot break. If you miss a certain brother or sister, make a big to-do once you found them. As if you view it as a great misfortune to have missed them and welcome them into the fold with open arms. You give this appearance and we can turn this on Noah. It will make you out to be family-orientated. This will be all to your benefit." Housou looked from one to another. Taking a deep breath, he stared into Seto's eyes. "I promised your parents that I would help you through this time, and I shall... if you permit it."

Mokuba nodded and poked Seto, who looked at him with a smile. Seto stood up and held out his hand. "Of course we will, Housou. Now let's make some plans. Nii-sama, I'll call the others."

* * *

4:30 PM

Yugi stared at the television, his brow furrowed. "Yami..."

"Yes?" Yami turned on the couch, frowning at Yugi's expression. "Is something wrong?"

"No... how, I mean, do you remember more about your life back then? How was it to be Seto's brother?"

"He was a good man but demanded a lot from himself and us... He was very devout... never judged another."

"So exactly opposite from what he is today?" Yugi looked at him.

"Not exactly opposite, more like the person he would be if he hadn't been adopted by Kaiba. Why?" Yami leaned close, his lips brushing over Yugi's neck. "Are you afraid of how he will... treat Joey?"

" Sorta. It's just... Yami, it's all so different. I... forget it." Yugi lay back and pulled a pillow into his arms. 

Yami stared at his other self for a moment before turning to face him. "Kaiba won't hurt him. And I know that this is all so very strange to you. Me as well, but you must not give up hope, my hikari. We will win... not just this time but for once and for all."

Yugi moved closer and wrapped Yami's hand around his shoulders. "I know... but, this _Nkosi_... he already hurt Joey, what about grandpa, Téa, and the others?"

Yami hugged him close, "I don't know, Yugi, I don't know. However, I can say this. On my honor as the son of the Sun God Ra, I shall not allow anyone to harm your grandfather, Tristan, or Téa." Yami stared into the violet eyes of his other half, moving closer. His lips opened as he gave to the young one a kiss. It was filled with benediction, love, honor, and the desert sun. Yami rested his hand against Yugi's cheek and moved back. "Yugi..."

"H- hai?" Yugi eyes fluttered open. He stared at Yami with satiated eyes.

"I have an idea... to help protect Grandpa. To do it, I will need to borrow your body."

"Ok. Hmmm what are ya gonna do?"

"I'm gonna lay wards. As the pharaoh I was taught some magic. Not like Seferet, but some. Enough to lay a ward. Though later we may as Seferet to lay wards on all the homes. I won't let him hurt you, meryt." Yami faded and Yugi took hold of the puzzle. The light flashed and Yami stared out. He went to the kitchen to get salt, pure water, and a knife... 

* * *

Eight Years ago

The boy sat watching Gatchaman quietly. It was almost unnatural. He did get up and wander around at commercials; he didn't move closer to see what new toy was being offered. He just sat and stared silently at the TV. His sable hair fell to his shoulders, curving naturally to his head. His dark eyes stared out of a slightly olive face. He sat in his white t-shirt, a thick blue vest, and green jeans with plain white sneakers. His hands stayed folded loosely up. 

A noise caused him to turn around, his eyes lighting on a very pregnant young woman. She knelt and held out her arms, "

"Are you enjoying the show, little one?"

He nodded and led her over to a brown leather couch that was sitting before the television. She laughed and pulled him up next to her. He leaned over and placed his head on her stomach, his lips moving softly.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm telling the story to Mokie... he'll love it!"

She shook her head and looked at the lawyer across the room.

Housou smiled. He _liked_ that family.

* * *

5:25

Seto sat in his chair, in his office and stared out the window. The sun was low in the sky and the windows had gradually lightened. He could hear the door open behind him. Turning slowly in his leather chair, he stared at the group in front of him. Mokuba had gone downstairs to escort them up there. Yugi... or rather Yami, was standing there as well as all his ancient brothers and sister, Tristan and two others. A thought flickered across his mind that of all of the people there, Tristan was the one most not needed.

_//Everyone is needed, Seto.//_

_//Sef.//_

_//After this, perhaps we should journey to the hospital and sit with our loves. Mayhap we can do nothing yet... I wish to assemble some protections for him.//_

_//I have my people already watching.//_ Seto stood up and led the group down a side hallway to large room. "Sit down. I brought you here because at least here, I can be sure no one can eavesdrop." 

_//But they can't see the magic... can they ?//_

The group settled down and the two new members at the farthest end of the table. Pegasus turned to his lover and nodded. Duke stood up. "Yugi filled us in and believe me, I may not like Joey all the time, but this is inexcusable. Noa has been working with Industrial Illusions for almost a year, anything we know, we will give you."

"With in limits, Kaiba-boy. I won't sink my company for you."

Seto nodded. "Accepted." Facing the group, he leaned back in his chair. "Joey's situation hasn't changed. However we must decide what to do with Nkosi when we trap him. I vote for his destruction. If I hadn't been so weak the last time, I would have done it properly. I waited and people died. This time I won't make such a mistake."

_//Do you think I'd help you do that, Seto ?//_ Sef asked quietly. 

_//I know you will or is that your wish? To lose him in this life too? He already killed him once, rather brutally I believe.//_

_//No! But the destruction of a soul...//_

_//Don't be pathetic. The choice between them isn't a choice. We will destroy Nkosi.//_

Yami stared at Seto. "We can not destroy him."

"Excuse me?

"We will not defeat him by being crueler than he. Also he is our sibling." Yami pointed out.

Shadi nodded. "Hatred only increases hatred and when one is mad, do you really want to escalate this? Nkosi has already shown us that he is dangerous. Next time he may kill more people. Look to what has already happened. Too many are injured and dead for a... family _squabble !"_

Marik turned and smiled at Rashid. A laugh burbled out of him, making the iridescent millennium eye flicker and flash upon his forehead. "Shadi, you know as well as I that Egypt is famous of its family squabbles. And each time, the people have paid the price for our hurt feelings. It is the same everywhere. In the feudal era, the shoguns went to war at the drop of a shield. We are royalty... of course our battles include deaths. They always have, Shadi. They always will."

Isis nodded and leaned back, "True brother. However, I'd rather limit the amount of death we spread. I admit though, I'd rather a hundred deaths than a million."

Tristan stared at them. "I don't believe you, who do you think you are?! You aren't royalty, you aren't better than anyone else. Maybe back then you thought you were but you're not now! You're acting like this is normal. Like their deaths don't mean much except as a move in a game!" 

Yami stared at him. "I've always protected my pawns, Tristan but you make a good analogy. And this exactly how Nkosi thinks. To get ahead of him, we have to play his way... without losing ourselves in his world. Believe me Tristan, we don't take anyone's life as not worthy or unnecessary. Not even Nkosi's."

Seto stood up, his chair falling backwards, slamming his hands on the table. He leaned forward with a twisted look on his face, "Nkosi's life is mine! There is nothing redeemable about him, even if he once _was_ my brother. What he has done is unforgivable and he can not be _redeemed_." Seto sneered.

Mokuba looked up at him, "Like you... during 'Death T'?"

Seto turned and stared at him, his voice whispering. "Mokuba... what... how could..." 

Tristan looked down at the table while Yami nodded. "Yes, Seto, 'Death T'. You were mad... part of it was what your fa - Gozaburo did to you. Yet you tried to kill us, going so far as to catch and lock us in with a serial killer. You sentenced Mokuba to 'experience death'. Now look... look around. You have family. You have all of us, and we all, to some measure, love you. Yet the love you have for Mokuba perhaps you can share some with Noa. He _should_ have been your brother. _He deserved_ to be your brother. It is unfortunate that he was born to Kaiba and not to your parents."

Mokuba moved closer to Seto, wrapping his arm around Seto's waist. "Big brother... Maybe we can rescue him, like Yami did you. And Yami... he is our brother. Our father was Kaiba. Apparently he decided that he didn't want to risk all his chances on one heir. So when our parents went to a clinic for help, he paid someone to make mother pregnant with his seed rather than our father's. He did this to a lot of women."

Yami shook his head, disgusted. "He must have _thought_ he was a pharaoh. This is just another reason for you to **not** destroy him. Brother then, brother now. You got a second chance, so must he. "

"So you won't help me, even after he has caused Joey's coma and he tried to _kill_ Mokuba!" Seto's voice scraped out of his throat. He stared at his brother before pushing him away and walking out.

Mokuba rolled over and struggled to stand up. "Nii-sama..."

Shadi stood and walked over to help Mokuba up. "Little one, allow me to talk to your brother alone. He's in pain without Joey and I believe he fears to show weakness to any of us, most of all... to you."

Mokuba nodded and picked up Seto's chair. He sat in it and stared at the rest of them. Behind him Shadi left, quietly.

* * *

Seto prowled in his office, trying to calm down. It would do no good if they saw him like this. A slowly blinking blue light on his phone caught his attention. He frowned, that light meant someone, some business associate was calling him. However both Pegasus and Devlin were here. He leaned over and pressed the speaker button. "Yes."

"Hello... brother."

"Noa." 

"Yes, may I call you Seto?" The voice asked smoothly.

"Of course... what do you want?"

"An alliance. I do not know how anyone found out that Kaiba was my father but I would not be responsible for trouble with his company now yours. Today, I have gotten no less than five calls about whether I plan to take over the company. I do not. He was your father too and you have been trained to take over the company. I believe it is necessary for us to present a united front... Seto." Noa's voice crept out of the speaker.

"I see..." Seto thought back to what Housou suggested and nodded. "Very well... come over to the headquarters in two hours."

"Actually, I was hoping to meet in a more _congenial_ place." Seto could hear Noa's chair creaking with a rich leather sound, "Perhaps dinner?"

Seto grit his teeth and stared balefully at the phone. "Fine. 8:30. The Jade Flower Room."

"Very well, please bring my other brother, I so wish to know both of you." 

Seto stared as a persistent tone floated from the speaker, growling he slammed his hand on the button and flopped into his chair. Sighing he picked up the phone and dialed. " Suraku, how is Joey doing?"

"Fine, Mr. Kaiba... still in the coma but the docs say the pressure has gone down some."

"Good... Suraku, what have you heard on the news about Asheworth?" Seto rubbed his forehead as he grimaced.

"If you mean the question of him being your brother, I did hear it, sir. I also set some of my people on the trail of finding out where those packages came from. I have also set teams to watch the homes of the other young adults concerned, including the Turtle Game Shop. Only the top 10 men are allowed to protect Joey Wheeler. And there is one more concern, sir. Mr. Iwata... as instructed we have kept him under surveillance.

"He has been building what is tantamount to a shrine in his bedroom to Mr. Wheeler. He addresses him as his 'Angel' and his 'Light'. He's an accomplished photographer and is indulging his hobby by taking several rolls a week of Mr. Wheeler. Whether for his own enjoyment or because he wishes to use it later as blackmail material, I don't know. He has been overheard many a time to be muttering that he will find a way for you to let his 'Angel' stay forever. Do you wish him to be removed?"

"Not yet, Suraku ... However, see if you can get photos of him and his little 'altar of love'. That may prove useful. Also contact Dr. Mozelle in the Institute. Ask him to write me up a profile of Iwata and the best manner to handle him if I choose to do one of three things. First, if I want him to let Wheeler go either for good or temporarily. Second, if I want Iwata to kill Wheeler. And third, if I should want to give Wheeler to Iwata. Wheeler finally has a purpose. Also did you find out what certificates he has or needs?"

"Yes, sir. Before becoming a driver for Kaiba Corp., he worked at the Domino Airport. He's qualified in several forms of vehicle maintenance, though I'm not sure you want him to be servicing any vehicle of yours. Especially after Iwata telling Wheeler that you will give him to Iwata." Suraku sighed.

"Damn him! I will call Iwata tonight and handle him. Thank you."

"It is my pleasure to sure you Mr. Kaiba."

" Suraku ... if for any reason I should not be able to handle Kaiba Corp., I expect you to serve Mokuba to as full an extant as you served I."

"Yes of course, Mokuba is the true heir and only he. No matter how true or false any other's blood claim may be."

"Thank you, Suraku ." Seto hung up the phone and leaned back. No matter how angry he was with Mokuba, he'd never leave him unprotected. Seto sat in his chair, turning one way then the other, lost in thought.

"As you did now... sen ." A dry voice spoke from the doorway.

"What do you wish, Tjatyu?"

Shadi smiled at that ancient name. "Mokuba is upset, scared. He wishes to know that you are all right."

Seto raised his head. " _Mokie_... Tell him... no, ask him to come here?"

"In a minute, my friend... tell me, is there anything I can do for you? I overheard you speaking to Noa. Can I... perhaps help you in less obvious ways?"

"You mean magically." Seto stared at him.

"Yes, I don't know if Seferet has taught you any but perhaps I can help prevent Noa from getting into your mind or into Mokuba's. I agree with Yami that we can't destroy him, without at least attempting to rescue him. Remember you being obsessed over winning? Think about how consumed Jahi has been becoming about living again... It is not directly their fault. What they have suffered is driving them mad, and with Nkosi, we know that the Eye drove him mad then too. Ask Seferet, I am sure there were some times when he and Nkosi were happy together. Now I will fetch Mokuba." Shadi moved back silently, closing the door behind him.

Seto sat perplexed, _//Sef... were there times ?//_

_//Yes, I have said that we shared the same mother but that is not truly accurate. Our mothers were sisters, you would say half-sisters. Their fathers were different though they shared the same mother. In my time, blood was passed mainly through the mothers, and mothers had the right of final recognition. That means if your mother denied you, then you were left alone without a family._

_//Our mothers were both married to the pharaoh. The younger one was his mother but she died soon after his birth. She asked my mother to accept him as her son. So she did. She was just then pregnant by the pharaoh, nine months later she gave birth to Adna. They should have been close but they aren't and with they were. I loved them both; I spent so much time with them. For the longest everything was ok, then... then... then he started to change. I went into the priesthood and Nkosi had some good talent with magic so I asked him to be trained as a priest. He was later given the Eye. After that, the changes became more rampant. He would speak of people who hated and stole from him, those who would lie to him, he would steal from others then maintain that the things stolen belonged to him. Soon he was expelled and the Eye taken from him.//_

_//But was he a good brother ?// Seto asked, sighing._

_//Until he changed, he and Adna were my favorite sibs. Then I got to spend time with Hunefer, ah Yami, and he and I got along much better when we decided to work together. I think that's what Father had in mind.//_ Sef smiled as he remembered days gone by.

_//What about Shadi's offer of magic ?// Seto asked curiously._

_//I suggest you take it. You haven't been very attentive to lessons. And I have had much time to teach you about the Scales... but perhaps that is what they are counting on... Tonight you will take a lesson in how to use the Scales.//_ Sef insisted. _//Now look up... Adna's coming.//_

Seto jerked up and stood quickly. As the door opened, he ran his eyes over Mokuba. A pale wine stain was creeping up from under his sand he tugged the shirt collar down. Mokuba reached over to try to pull it back up. "Oh... Mokie I'm so, so sorry."

Mokuba stared at him and hugged him gently. "It's ok, Nii-sama."

"No, it's not! I'm sorry... I haven't been very good to you lately. And I can't promise to. If you want to go visit Serenity, I'll let you."

"No... we're gonna make it through together, as brothers and that's final!" Mokuba stared at his brother before hugging him tightly. "Always my brother, right Seto?" 

"Always, Mokie. You know if Gozaburo did this to as many people as Father suspects, then we owe it to them to make sure they are given chances to succeed. Like Housou said... it will be a great investment. Each of them will be allowed to claim the name of Kaiba. They can form a core of trusted people and we can spread out. We can redeem the Kaiba name."

Mokuba smiled, "And we'll have a huge family?"

" Hai ." 

Mokuba nodded and hugged his brother again before standing straight. "Have you talked to Sef? He knew Nkosi."

"Yes and we plan to talk a great deal tonight. He also believes I need some practice with the scales. So we'll work on that then visit Joey. You need to rest that shoulder, Mokuba so it'll heal faster."

Mokuba nodded and walked over to the door. "Should I tell the others to leave?"

Seto leaned on the desk and bit his lip. "No... you go rest, put something on those bruises and I'll see you before I leave, ok?"

"Yes..." Mokuba slipped out the door, seeing his favorite guard waiting at the stairs, he heads upstairs.

_//Seto, you plan to go through with meeting Nkosi tonight??//_

_//Yes, Sef... I've been thinking of what you said and it looks as if Nkosi was suffering from mental illness.//_

//What? We knew the gods were upset with him but he refused to stop stealing even when we warned him.// 

_//It's not something he can control... Mental illness is quiet; it changes how a person perceives the world around them. They see enemies where there are none, they believe themselves to be hunted or pursued. They become overly possessive and don't listen to logic.//_ Seto frowned.

_//Yes, yes! That was him! An illness? What causes it? //_ Sef asked excitedly.

//You have knowledge of chemicals don't you? Well we have chemicals inside ourselves and when they are in the wrong mix then it affects how we think. You would call them 'humors' but there are more than a few humors though they are made up of only four basic elements.// Seto smiled twistedly at the thought that all they were dealing with was a garden variety psycho. Malik could probably destroy him easily.

_//Then it was this illness not gods who changed my brother ?// Sef seemed surprised._

_// Yes, and it may explain why Nkosi and Adna weren't close. The change in the chemicals produce a slight change in smell... so slight you and I may not notice it. Women seem more perceptible to changes in males, as males are more perceptible to the changes in females. Adna was your sister.//_ Seto stood up and straightened his coat. Yanking the door open he headed down the hall.

_//I see... then tonight ?//_ Sef asked cautiously.

_//I tell Noa that Nkosi was suffering from paranoia and schizophrenia. And suggest that he help us... I'll ask him to give up the eye and accept a position as one of my two VP's. The other is reserved for Mokuba.//_

_//Very well... perhaps I can ask his forgiveness... and get my little sand cub back.//_

_//Maybe.//_ Seto took a deep breath and opened the door to the meeting room. "We've been going about this all wrong."

* * *

In the Shadow Realm

Jahi laughed... A perfect card. Smirking he took a card from his hand and placed it face up and stared at Joey. "Armored Lizard attacks... and your life points fall!"

Joey frowned. "We'll see. I activate Fairy box. If I call the flip right then I don't lose any life points!" Joey stared as the coin went up. "Heads." 

Jahi laughed as it fell and a gold etched tail shone. Sands fell from Joey's life point counter. "Fifteen hundred points gone. Your move..."

Joey growled and drew. Premature Burial. Shaking his head, he plucked a card from his hand, "I play Jar of Greed!" Draws and snickers when he sees he's pulled Red Eyes Black Dragon and Reinforcement of Army. "I end my turn, Joky ."

"It's Jahi, Pup!" Jahi stares at his hand and draws. Jinzo. "I sacrifice Armored Lizard to call out Jinzo who attacks your points directly. Down to 100, Boy." 

"Yeah, yeah... now let's see..." Joey stares at his cards, a plan forming. "I play Scape Goat!"

Jahi shook his head. "Trying to escape? You have one hundred Life Points... give up! You can't play well because you don't have a reason to. Jinzo destroy one of his Scape Goats."

"Well, you're wrong... I have Seto. Hear me... I HAVE SETO!" Joey growled and drew. He took a deep breath as he pulled out, Banner of Courage. "You're gonna go down! I sacrifice my last two Scape Goats to use..."

* * *

7:47 PM

Domino Hospital

Honda ducked into the room and closed the door. Joey was lying pale against the medical blue. His hair dull and brittle framed his face except where they shaved it to do the surgery. The translucent tubes crawled all over him, almost as bad as that soft intrusive beeping coming from the machines. Honda pulled a chair close to the bed and stared at his friend.

"Joey, I don't know if you can hear me... I don't know if you will remember this when you wake up but you have to wake up. Kaiba's become an even greater asshole. He's seriously off his rocker... and you've only been together for two weeks. He's determined to kill Nkosi. Or he was.

"He came in after storming out because we wouldn't allow him to kill Noa, rather I should say, Yami wouldn't let him. Then Mokuba told us that Noa is really their brother. Surprise huh? It turns out he may be the original Kaiba Heir. Seto thinks that Nkosi was mentally ill; combine that with Noa's jealousy. Boom... Damn, wake up already! 

"Look, if you wake up, I promise that I'll try not to hate Moneybags so much, k? Just wake up." Honda stared at his best friend before standing up. The soft annoying beeps still sounded. Sighing, he opened the door and nodded at the guard.

* * *

In the Shadow Realm

Joey smiled, "First I play my magic cards, Premature Burial, which brings back my Alligator Sword. Then I play, Reinforcement of Army, that lets me call out Gierfried the Iron Warrior! Scared yet? I also play Banner of Courage to increase all my monsters attack point by 200 and sac two of my Scape Goats to bring forth, Red Eyes Black Dragon!"

Jahi stared at him before a twisted smile crossed his face.

* * *

8:45 PM

Outside Noa's house

_//Damn brat, I can not believe I'm doing this! As long as I'm useful he's all sweetness and light but the minute I'm not it's constant whining! //_

_//Baku-chan, thank you for doing this...//_ Ryou's mind voice whispered into his head.

_//I'm not doing this for you! You did however bring up a good point. If he kills you, I'm stuck in that infernal ring again for another five millennia! It's insufferable that he killed me, me! The Thief King! But for him to do it again is not acceptable. Now go back to your_ _miserable weeping about the pointy headed boy.// Bakura snapped._

_//Bakura... still I thank you.//_ A mental kiss pressed itself to Bakura's lips. //Thief King? You were Thief King Bakare? // 

_//The greatest Thief King ever. We stole so much of the gold from the tombs. They didn't need it and we did. Now get out of my head so I can do this.//_

_// Hai , Bakare, beloved.//_

Bakura shook his head and smiled, if Tristan thought that he could just have Ryou then Bakura will have to teach him differently. Bakura stared at the glass as if he could melt it. He was however glad that Ryou had taught how to use that computer, the sheer amount of information they had on present day alarms and traps made him salivate. Such useful information just lying around. Smirking, he disabled the window alarm and opened it. He dropped to the floor and looked around. A hallway, an empty hallway. Very empty. No pictures, no tables, no knick-knacks. And dust everywhere... frowning Bakura walked carefully through room upon empty, dusty room. He growled angrily and kept looking. He knew he was in the right place, he knew it but the house was empty. He turned and looked over to a stairway, if he was right that led to Noa's bedroom. Noa wasn't here since he was supposed to be meeting with Seto right now. Making his choice, Bakura moved up the stairs and walked carefully to the room. Strange, this door was the only one not coated with dust, instead the inlaid bamboo shone golden. Silently he pushed the door open.

Another empty room, another empty room, yes but not dusty. Bakura smiled and looked around the room. On one wall was mounted a small gray box. About a foot on each side, it was the only thing in the room. Bakura walked over and examined it carefully, making sure it wasn't booby-trapped. He flipped the latches at the top and it fell down to form a keyboard. Nestled into a hole in the wall was a small monitor. The screen flickered and a cursor appeared onto the screen. Puzzled he read:

 

Available Battery: 69% Time Remaining: 15 hours 32 minutes Location tracking Cybernetic body performance: 98% 

_//Ryou.//_

_// Hai , Bakura? Are you done? //_

Bakura rolled his eyes, _//No, but tell me... what does 'cy-be-net- ic ' mean?//_

_// Cybenetic ... do you mean C-y-b-e-r-n-e-t- i -c ?//_ Ryou asked cautiously, he knew that Bakura hated to be corrected.

_//Yes.//_

_//Cybernetic... it's like the show I showed you Cyborg 009. It means a machine that's part human, why? //_

//Then Noa is a robot... I'm coming back! // Bakura smirked.

_//What? Bakura! Bak -//_ Ryou shouted.

Bakura ignored him and shut the link. Securing the computer, he turned towards two doors inset in an adjoining wall. He opened the first one, a dusty bathroom. Then he opened the second one... row upon row of pressed suits. Bakura laughed, if Noa was going to pretend to be human then of course he needed clothes. A memory of a story that Ryou told him about a tin soldier flooded through his mind. Laughing delightedly, he set to cutting every piece of clothing save for one of those ugly white uniforms. Happy once again, he closed everything up and left the house, whistling.

* * *

8:25 

Jade Flower Room

Seto sipped from his cup, eyes cast down as he sat on a tatami mat in a private eating room. Beside him the whisper of paper and wood sounded as the (shoji?) were pulled back. Suddenly pair of gray leather loafers appear at the corner of his sight.

"You're early."

Noa nodded to the hostess and knelt carefully on the opposite side of the table. "Yes I am, Kaiba-san or may I call you Seto, nii-chan?"

"Call me what you wish. What did you want to talk about?"

"I am sorry about what happened, is Mokuba alright?"

"Yes..." Seto rubbed the bridge of his nose "but he was tired so I let him go to bed early. Not to be rude but what do you want, Asheworth. "

"For you to call me Noa, for you to know what Kaiba did to me, for you to give me a chance to meet and know Mokuba. A chance to have a family again. That's all."

"Truly?" Seto looked at him skeptically.

"I understand that you find this hard... even impossible to believe. As for the unfortunate revealing of our relationship, I did plan on telling you. I thought it best if I approached from a position of equality. Where I would have my own money and company and so forth so that you would not assume that I only wanted to use our relationship to take over Kaiba Corp. It is yours." Noa paused, looking at his half brother and sipped from his cup. "Also I didn't know if you were my half-brother or not. There were other... possibilities. One is a young man named Duke Devlin. I found out that he too owns a company and then there was Joseph Wheeler. Since Kaiba did as he did in Domino, I had to look at all children born in certain years. 

"Joseph Wheeler? Devlin?" Seto shook his head. "They still may be, Noa. I have uncovered evidence that indicates that not only my mother was used as a..." Seto sneered, "brood mare. We may have at least five or ten others. That's a big family."

Noa nodded, "I see, then let's you and I find them."

"I already have people working on it. It's been over 16 years and some may be older. It will be hard to find them especially if they have spread throughout Japan." The shoji was pushed delicately aside once more and several bowls were placed before them. "Now to dinner and tell me more about your life."

"Well, I was born and raised here in Japan until I was nine, when I was hit by a car. Afterwards Kaiba kept me around for maybe a year then shipped me off to England. My mother's family were Asheworths and I..."

* * *

 

Monday

12:45 PM Lunch

Yugi sat down on the bench and waited. He pushed his food around the tray and looked for the others. Suddenly Tristan sat down beside him. "Eat, Yuge. Joey won't like it if you don't eat."

Yugi jumped and looked up at his friend, "I know... did you notice that Kaiba wasn't in school today. Maybe he went to visit Joey."

"You think so? I don't know. I wonder if Mokuba went to school today, poor guy was all shaken up." Tristan looked up suddenly, a smile sweeping across his face. He half stood and waved to a slim white blond haired young man. "Ryou. Hey... sit down."

Yugi's mouth dropped open and he shut it quickly, calling to Yami. _//Yami! Tristan, I think he likes Ryou. //_

//Hmmm well we knew he likes Ryou, otherwise he wouldn't be Ryou's friend, Yugi.// 

_//No. He **likes** Ryou. The smile on his face as Ryou came over. // _

_//NANI?! Hmm... he is a nice young man, but we'll have to see if he's suitable for my brother. For now, could you perhaps... discourage him from falling too quickly? //_

_//YAMI! No I can't. It's sweet and here I thought he'd keep going after Serenity. But it's all cute that he's head over heels for Ryou. I wonder what he thinks of Bakura. I wonder what **Bakura** thinks about this!// _

_//He hates it, in his mind Ryou should be his as you are mine. Think too, if Bakare is my brother that should make Ryou as close as a brother to you as well. And as willing to check out anyone who is interested in him. //_

Yugi shook his head and looked up, straight into Ryou's eyes. "Sorry, I was talking to Yami."

Ryou nodded, "Ah... well we were thinking of visiting Kaiba after school and then Joey tonight. Bakura has something to tell Kaiba."

Yugi nodded, "Ok." Then turning, he noticed that Malik and the rest had joined them. Smiling at Malik he asked him about some of the books they needed for their history report.

* * *

1:30 PM Kaiba Corp Main Headquarters

Seto stood staring at a monitor and noticed how many people had entered the room. Frowning, he walked over and opened the door. Not looking at the people he headed to the stage and stepped up to the podium.

"On Saturday, cowards attacked a small child. This was their second attack on him. Friday afternoon, a dark car careened wildly around a corner and shot at my ten-year-old brother as a friend of mine was picking him up from school. As a result of protecting Mokuba, he was injured and is now in a coma. They fire into the school with no thought of who they might hit, luckily the school was mostly empty as it was after school. Saturday was another matter entirely.

"These cowards placed a bomb underneath the elementary school, knowing that Mokuba was going to be there for a competition. A district wide competition, which meant the school would be full of student, teachers, parents, and helpers. I do not know what these cowards want because they have failed to give any demands to me. No one has called to claim responsibility. And for a while I believed that it was not Mokuba who was the target, the second attack unfortunately confirms it.

"The other unfortunate thing about this is that these cowards did not care who they hurt in addition to Mokuba. That is why you are all here. You have all suffered family who have been hurt or killed by these cowards. Behind you is the press, here to record my words to these dishonorable, low, no account bastards.

"I have arranged to pay for the hospital stay and therapy for everyone injured by the blast as well as the funerals, help with insurance, and a monetary settlement. I am not trying to buy off your family deaths, my brother and I, truly feel a responsibility help you through this. As head of Kaiba Corporation, I understand an attack on myself. Mokuba (take out the comma) is my heir, and we can understand an attack on him. The people who were hurt and killed by the blast, especially the children, were innocent. They have nothing to do with Kaiba Corp or us. To try their best to kill innocents is the mark of someone who is a coward, without honor, without humanity. 

"As head of Kaiba Corp , I have always tried to give my little brother a relatively normal lifestyle, yet now others are paying for it. To this end, I am announcing a withdrawal of Mokuba, Joseph Wheeler, and myself from public school until the threat to others is over. In addition, we are supplying the police with the newest forms of security technology that we have in hopes it may help. I know this can not make up for the loss of your family but maybe we can make it easier to bear." Seto stepped down and moved toward the people. A guard touched his shoulder briefly, whispering in his ear before handing him a folder. Frowning, he opened the folder and read the information. 

Control Sample: Kaiba Seto 

Subject A: 100% Match (subject is control) 

Subject B: 75% Match - first level relationship (sibling) 

Subject C: 90% Match - first level relationship (sibling) 

_Damn, Noa is B._

* * *

4:20 P.M.

Noa stared out the tinted window, wondering. _//What is Seto up to? After that press conference, does he really expect me to think he doesn't know it's me. Something is wrong. And now he's pulling Mokuba out of school and himself as well, but what about this Wheeler character? What is his connection? I-//_

A ringing phone demanded his attention. Noa answered it. "Yes?"

"Mr. Asheworth , something peculiar came up today. When the household staff went to pick up your clothes to be washed, they discovered that all your clothes have been methodically cut into small strips. None of which are longer than four inches and two inches wide. Naturally we were told and we checked the computer in the room. It was triggered at 8:52 last night. Whoever did it, did it with skill and precision, the only difference was the rhythmic pulses in the wire. The way we have it set up is that every so often you get an energy pulse through the alarm wire. These are set randomly so that you may get one pulse, five second pause, another pulse, another pulse, three seconds later, another. Except that in this case between 8:48 and 8:49 there were three pulses exactly twenty seconds apart and during the time period from 8:55 to 8:56 there were five pulses exactly twelve minutes apart. We have failed Mr. Asheworth, someone broke in and we have no idea what they took."

"I see."

* * *

5:37 PM On the way to Kaiba Corp. 

Malik smiled as Tristan teased Yugi. Slipping one hand into Rashid's, he just let himself relax. Rashid pulled him closer and wrapped his arm around Malik's waist. Malik shook his head and thought of how calmly his lover had been waiting outside the school for him. Leaning in, he laid his head on Rashid's arm. Suddenly a slim line of uncomfortableness crept up his back until he stopped. Rashid continued walking until he was caught up short. 

"Mali? Something wrong?" Rashid looked at him.

Malik turn to catch Ryou's eyes, then Yugi. Slowly all three of them turned towards the street, to watch a dark sedan pass. All four windows were tinted, as was the back. Rashid watched the car as it approached the corner and turned. Tristan looked at them, then down to a piece of paper he had in his hand.

"I got the license number. One-M-N-K-Zero-Five-One. There's something odd about it."

Rashid nodded and tugged gently on Malik's waist. Malik turned and looked up at him, a smile on his lips. "I'm ok, I think _he_ was in the car."

Ryou and Yugi nodded. Yugi stared at the corner. "Yes, I think he was."

* * *

5:50 PM

"And Wheeler?" A voice floated in the air. Two doctors in their white lab coats and shiny silver colored badges sat in the lounge, reviewing case files.

"Almost ready to be moved to an outpatient clinic, except that we have been ordered not to do outpatient on him. He has a high rate of recidivism. We'll keep him another three weeks and then release him." The other doctor replied happily, 

"Three? He already has aversion to alcohol. It's interesting that we were allowed to experiment with shocks and aversion as we did. He's remarkably suggestible. I think we only need to keep him for two more weeks."

"Hmmm well you do spend more time with him, so two weeks sounds good to me. Oh Ghosts! Five minutes to rounds, let's go."

Neither man noticed Iwata sitting by the window. His lunch gone cold and his face drained of blood. _//No... they can't take my angel!//_

* * *

6:00 PM Kaiba Corp Lobby

Mokuba ran up to Yugi and hugged him. "Hey! I know you're looking for Nii-sama but he's not here. He went to spend time with Joey."

"Oh... well we were planning to go over after we talked to him, I guess we should go now. Are you coming?" Yugi asked softly.

"Sure, but instead of walking, I'll just call a car. Besides Seto doesn't want me out of our security's eyesight at all. Not that I blame him."

Tristan nodded. "True. Got a car to fit all of us?"

Mokuba nodded. "Just wait here?"

"No problem."

Five minutes later, six young men left through the side door and climbed into a van, heading to Domino Hospital.

* * *

6:07 PM Domino Hospital

In a dim room at the end of the hall, a young man moaned, his blond hair hung limp over his eyes, except where it had been shaved to reveal the scalp wound. Slowly, pale lid opened, sticking slightly with sleep. He smiled and looked out with blue green eyes at the hospital room. Seeing a young man sitting by his bed, he calls out, "Seto?"

 


	11. Chapter 11

6:07 PM Domino Hospital

Seto moved to sit by Joey, one hand brushing his golden hair from his blue eyes. “Hurting?”

“My head.” Joey leaned back into the pillows, his hands caressing the linen sheets.

“Really, Jahi?” Seto leaned closer, his voice shot with ice. “Where’s Joey?”

“We dueled... we dueled and he...” Jahi trailed off.

_“I also play Banner of Courage to increase all my monsters attack point by 200 and sac two of my Scape Goats to bring forth, Red Eyes Black Dragon!”_

“In the end, he set it up, played his Scape Goats well... he let me destroy one then used the other two to summon Red Eyes Black Dragon. He brought back his Alligator Sword, used a magic card to bring out his Gierfried, used another magic card to boost his monsters powers. His dragon killed my Jinzo the Mechanical Man, then he attacks me directly with Alligator Sword, Gierfried, and his last Scape Goat.”

“But Scape Goats have no power.” Seto leaned back.

“He boosted all his monsters’ powers by 200, even Scape Goat. Between Alligator Sword and Gierfried, I only had 200 life points left. And so your Joey won.” Jahi looked down.

“Then why are you here?” Seto demanded.

“Because he has gallantly offered me one hour with Seferet. Will you let me talk to him before...” Tears seeped from below his lids.

_//Please Seto, let me talk to my husband before I must let him go.//_

_//Alright.//_

Light flashed and Seferet looked out of Seto’s eyes. “Jahi, my love, my sea god.”

“Sef, I lost, forgive me.”

“In a way I am glad you lost, for if you had won you would have been on your way to being a demon. I rather believe you in the land of beyond the Western Shore than become a demon. I love you so much, beloved.” Sef leaned forward, stroking his face and placing kisses upon his skin. “I have missed you though you know we are always destined to be together, have you not learned that from his dreams, your dreams. In this time and all time we have surmounted all the odds to be lovers and everything to each other. Even if you leave now, it is only for a short time, although all seconds without you feel like millennia.”

Jahi laughed as the kisses played over his neck, “Yes but it’s so dark in there, besides you will not have to be without me for long.”

“What?”

_//What!//_ Seto snarled within Sef.

“Our battle has reaped several profits, my heart. One of which is that Joey now realizes how important Seto is to him and now he is willing to help Seto in all ways. Also he has offered to allow me to spend some time with you, on occasion.” Jahi reached down and tugged on Sef’s hair. “And you are right, my love. I do not wish to be a demon!”

“I see... now that we know this... I wish to put this sole hour to much good use. Your lips look in need of moisture.” Seferet leaned down, “Let me now apply myself to this task.”

Jahi laughed and reached up to pull Seferet to him. “My heart’s own.”

* * * 

6:20 PM In traffic

Mokuba looked out the window. Cars were backed up all the way to the bridge. Craning his head he could see the blue and white flashing lights of an ambulance. Sighing, he sat back down, his legs swinging back and forth restlessly. 

“I’m sorry. It’s gonna take a while to get to the hospital, looks like a real bad accident.”

Ryou shook his head, “It’s not your fault Mokuba. We can talk for a while. Which reminds me, Bakura broke into Noa’s house last night.”

Yugi’s head jerked up from the seat, eyes glowing red, “Bakare! How could you, what if you were caught? What is Nkosi had gotten his hands on you?!”

_//Tell his high and mighty not to hike up his kilt much. I was careful.//_ Bakura laughed.

Ryou laughed silently and looked up at Yami, “He says he was careful... and he did find out something strange. The house was empty. It was all dusty and empty. Except for one bedroom. There was a bathroom with some stuff and a closet full of clothes.”

_//Which I took great pleasure in cutting into very tiny strips.//_

Ryou sighed, shaking his head. “And he caused some minor damage. But he did find out something interesting... Noa _isn’t_ human. He found a computer built into the wall. It said something about a cybernetic body. So he can’t be totally human.”

Tristan leaned back against the car seat. “Well... I remember a rumor about 10 years ago that a big company got a government contract to create an army that could be controlled remotely. They wanted to be able to copy a person into a robot essentially. It was hushed up because,” Tristan shrugged, “we aren’t allowed to have an army.”

Malik looked confused, “You aren't _allowed_ to have an army?”

Tristan shook his head, “During World War II, our country joined with the Germans. It was a mistake but we couldn’t back out of it with honor. We wanted to take over several lands to expand our base and basically we hoped we would be so strong that no one would intrude on our lands the way the Americans did. But the leadership allowed themselves to be talked into a huge mistake. Our country is not that far from the American state of Hawaii, we attacked early in the morning and bombed a base there. They awoke to the war and attacked. Then they dropped two of the most devastating bombs on us. At Hiroshima and Nagasaki, they dropped nuclear bombs... people are still dying from the effects of it but it gave us a reason to surrender. How can you lose face in surrender when to not give up means more of your people will die horrid deaths.

“We did. And as part of the reparations settlement we agreed to give up our military. We are forbidden from having a military, or any force in excess of a certain number. We can have a civil defense force but that’s legally capped. We are not allowed to do military testing. So if that rumor had reached those who won the war, they would have legal reason to come in and destroy us.”

Malik looked up at Rashid and shook his head. Rashid shrugged, “And the company rumored to do this?”

Tristan smirked, “Guess?”

Yugi sighed, “Kaiba of course, but you think he did it?”

“No, I know that about 10 or so years ago, he had a program that could be the basis for such a project. So I know he could do it, I am sure he did. It also makes sense when you think of the cybernetic body. A humanoid robot.”

Mokuba shook his head, “It can’t be... they took DNA. A robot wouldn’t have any. I saw the report.”

Ryou turned to him, “No... they said they took DNA, you got a sample. Who said the sample came from Noa? Even if they took blood directly from him, there are ways, an implanted blood sac in the arms or a sponge with saliva in his mouth. If he is a... cyborg. He could have gotten the samples from one of your other brothers.”

“I... never thought of that. But Seto went out to eat with him... of course the food could go down a tube to a storage area.” Mokuba frowned, “But if he is a robot... where’s his body? He has to have a body to have his mind uploaded from. Doesn’t he?”

* * * 

6:35 PM

Noa leaned back against the leather seat. His hand reached over to flip open a small compartment set into the seat. He smiled as his fingers traced the circlet and eye. He could feel the other presence within it. Happily, he curved his fingers around the slim gold band and lift—

A beep intruded. Sighing, Noa placed the circlet back into the inset case and pressed the button for the speakerphone. “Yes.”

“Master Asheworth, I was wondering you had the time to read the report that I left you?” A voice answered.

“Give me the high points.”

“Yes, sir. The one thing that concerns us most is that we had an intruder in the house last night. And our system didn’t catch him. He didn’t steal anything, merely walked through the house, or so we thought. When Trangshi went to put your washed clothes in your closet, he found that all your clothes had been cut into tiny strips. He checked your hamper and they too have been vandalized. The only thing spared was one of the white school uniforms. As well, the computer was shown to be activated at 18:52. Although it was activated, nothing was accessed. However, I am still concerned.”

“Understandable, very well. Delando, set up another meet with Kaiba. I doubt he did this since he’s more professional but we must ask anyway. And Delando, find out who was on duty last night. I want to ask questions.”

“Hai, sir! And young Shiskata has called to arrange a time for your project.”

“Very well. Connect me to Kaiba.”

“Yes, sir.” A click sounded and ringing came from the speaker. Another voice floated from it and around the car. “Mudaro speaking.”

* * * 

7:03 PM Domino Hospital

Jahi ran his hand through Seferet’s modern hair. It was so short. Smiling, he brushed his lips over his lover’s earlobe, nibbling and sucking, whispering, “It’s almost time for me to leave, my heart. I do not want to leave but I must, I will not violate our agreement. My love, it seems your present incarnation is a little... lax in his love, perhaps we may give them a bit of help?”

Seferet laughed, “I think so... kiss me, my love, my never-ending love.”

Jahi smiled sweetly as he laid kisses over Sef’s cheek and licked Sef’s lips. Happily, he placed his lips onto his lover, the warm flesh opening, their tongues dueling. Slowly aqua eyes faded to honey, lids fluttering closed. Seferet no longer feeling his lover’s presence ceded control to Seto, who brough his arms up. Joey felt the warm arms about him, pulling him closer. His hands trapped between them, stroked over the silk shirt.

“Isn’t this touching? I guess you’re feeling better, Joey.” Tristan said from the doorway.

Seto’s eyes opened and he pulled slowly away to glare at the intrusive pointy headed sable teen. “And I see you don’t know how to knock...”

Joey opened his eyes and leaned back against the hospital pillows. “Hey Tristan, calm down, besides it’s not like I mind.”

“What exactly is your problem, Taylor? Are you miserable and want me to be so as well? Or is it something about me?” Seto questioned.

“Not something about you, Kaiba, _you_. I mean what could I possibly hold against you except possibly: you killed the man who took you out of the orphanage, you destroyed my family and my life, and you are the one responsible for wrecking Joey’s life as well. Other than that what could I possibly hold against you? Arrogant bastard.”

Bakura shook his head and pushed through the people in the doorway, “Look you two can fight over Joey after we stop this asshole from killing us. Now sit down and shut up. Kaiba, what do you know about cybernetics?”

“Not much, it was one of the first departments I downsized. Kaiba wanted to use cybernetics in a weapon capability. I didn’t want to be in the weapons racket. Too much oversight by others. So I moved us from the military market to a civilian one. The only parts I kept were those in the medical field. The idea, in the medical facilities, were to use cybernetic limbs to replace those lost by accident. Supposedly, the cyberchips would read the involuntary pulses from the mind and cause the limb to act like a normal one. So far we haven’t managed more than a rudimentary limb but advances happen all the time. Why?” Seto leaned back, a frown on his face. He tugged Mokuba closer and took his hand. His other hand lay in Joey’s.

Bakura smirked and walked in, taking the only chair available. “Because when I broke in to Noa’s house last night, and that house is strange, one of the strange things I found was a computare set into the wall. When I opened it, the lines on there were talking about how much power a ‘cybernetic’ body had. Is it possible that Noa has one?”

Seto pulled his hands close and frowned, “I don’t see how. The body would actually be simpler than a limb because you can house most of the stuff in the center of the body rather than absolutely confining it to the limb, but where would he get one?”

Tristan stared at them, eyes wide. “From Kaiba Corp. From Project Golem.”

Mokuba shook his head, “I don’t remember any ‘Project Golem’ and Nii-sama and I went through the projects before we cut anything.”

“There is no ‘Project Golem’.” Seto stated, “That’s an English word, I’d remember that.”

Yugi stared at them, “What is ‘golem’?”

Tristan closed his eyes and started speaking. “A golem is a human made from metal or mud. Supposedly Jewish magicians would make them and set them to protect people. I remember Mother telling me this after I saw the word on one of her folders. She told me that it was a joke. She said that with a ‘golem’ a magican creates a body and the mind comes from the word of God. This time they already had the mind, they just needed a body. She was working on some of the code in her spare time. She was head of the project. At least until you fired her. Ruined my family and so forth.”

Seto grit his teeth, “Despite what you think, anyone I fired I did so for one of two reasons. Either they were no longer needed due to their project being cut as our move out of the military sector or because they broke the rules flagrantly.”

“Yeah, right...”

Bakura growled, “Argue later, I have no intention to be killed by some idiot wind up toy! You say that Kaiba had this program, he says he doesn’t. So who picked it up? And Mokuba... earlier you said Noa had to have a body to uploaded from, well if the cybernetic limbs are to replace body parts lost, then what if for some reason, he can’t use his body. So he could be the real Noa. If this ‘Project Golem’ was to create a machine body, makes sense that Kaiba do it for his son?”

Seto turned to face Bakura. “I can’t see him keeping anyone around that he believed to be... useless. Yet Noa was his only recognized child so perhaps he would. As to who picked up the Golem Project, I have no idea. Since Taylor is the one who knows all about it, ask him.”

Tristan smiled twistedly, arms crossing his chest and hands twisting in his shirt. A sneer crossed his features as he leaned against the wall. “The Kaiba Corp is still running the project or they were as of two years ago.”

Seto grit his teeth, “And I should know what my company is doing! We don’t have any Project Golem. Not now, not two years ago. I took control five years ago.”

“So it was hidden from you and yes you did have it five years ago, two years ago, now! I know it. Remember my mother worked on it. I hacked into Kaiba Corp.’s mainframe to see what was happening. Man that was back when I was fourteen, been looking after the project for a past couple of years, sending mom all the new data. So yeah, it’s still up and running but only a skeleton crew. Apparently ‘Golem’ doesn’t need much maintence.”

Seto’s mouth twisted and he leaned forward, his voice hard, “You _hacked_ me? I doubt it. What do you know about computers? What they teach us in school? It’s practically useless.”

Joey leaned back, biting his lip, “Seto, oh man, Tris has been working with computers since he was a baby. And if he said he hacked you, he hacked you. C’mon Tris, tell him the name ya use.”

Tristan stared at kaiba, his chocolate eyes hard as rock. Leaning closer, he whispered viciously, “Gatchaman.”

* * * 

Noa surveyed his room. There were no overt signs of an intruder. He had already seen the dissected clothing.

_//It must have been Bakare. That little gutter rat. And to think that Hunefer actually tried to claim that he was one of our brothers! Once we complete this and I have my own body, I want to take time to kill him.//_ Nkosi grumbled from within.

_//Nkosi.//_ Noa nodded. _//When you get your own body? So you already discovered how this will happen. If Kaiba’s device works, I will be able to download my total self from the mainframe to a new body. And you to another. I’ve already done some research. There is a set of twins... //_

_//Twins... perfect.//_

_//I thought so, Nkosi.//_ Noa walked over and sat down, leaning against the wall. His eyes closed as his fingers saught the data port located near the floor. Finding it, he connected and opened his eyes. All about him were endless vistas of golden sands. “It’s beautiful here.”

“Yes, it is... my father exiled me here on the advice of my dear brother.”

“The priest... Seto!” Noa grit his teeth.

“Yes, I loved this place and because of him all I can remember is it now my prison. However I must thank your father for this chance, a chance to see this place again, to share it with... a friend.” Nkosi turned smiling, one hand reaching up to cup Noa’s cheek. He brushed soft lips against Noa’s skin.

“Ahh... we may have to start the plan sooner than we wished to. Now that they know about my false body.” Noa clarified.

“How close are we to prepared?”

“We must get Kaiba into this world, a world where I can control things. We have to throw out the bait and to do that, we need to go out on the Web.”

“This communication network you spoke of? A true web? How is you can go anywhere on there but not into Kaiba Corp.?”

“I don’t know why it’s called a web, I see it more as a sea, a sea I swim through seeing everything. Like you, my father placed me into this prison. He allowed me to go everywhere but where I wish to go. It’s a blind spot to me, I truly can’t see it but once I take over the company, I can open it’s mainframe to myself. Imagine it, control over all the computer systems of the world. I would be able to move Kaiba Corp. up to be the most coveted spot in every single industry I desire. I will control the world! And you will be there?” Noa asked gently.

“Forever.” 

Noa smiled as he took Nkosi’s hand. “Now let us start...” 

Silver lines of fire ran over the sand and up into the air until they shaped a door. The fire started to dim as its light bled into the shape in the air. The light darkened until it resembled dark wood. Slowly it opened and Nkosi smiled back as Noa pulled them towards a doorway. Beyond it was nothing less than a sea of quicksilver waves.

* * * 

Mokuba stared at Tristan, for the first time he didn’t see him as merely a friend of Yugi’s. He shook his head. In bed Joey was smiling broadly and he sat up to place his hand on Seto’s shoulder, leaning closer he whispered, “Surprise. Sorry I couldn’t tell ya before but it wasn’t my secret to tell.”

Seto turned towards him, eyes wide. “That... that pointy haired buffoon is on of the best hackers in the world?! I can’t believe it.”

“Nii-sama, why would they lie?” Mokuba wrapped one arm around Seto’s neck. “But Tristan, are you truly Gatchaman?”

Tristan nodded, “Yep... see for such a bright boy Kaiba you failed in one great way. All your newer firewalls and encryption programs are based off the old one, they are improvements. Not entirely new forms. My mother wrote most of them. And I know how to break _every single one_.”

“I see... and you know Kaiba Corp.’s policy with those who manage to hack our computers, don’t you?”

“Yes, but why would I want to work for you, I hate you.” Tristan’s eyes blazed with repressed anger. He leaned forward, breath hot with rage, “I hate everything about you, the only reason I’ve _ever_ helped you is because Joey and Yugi demanded it. I wouldn’t have cared if you died. I still don’t... except Joey would be upset.”

Seto frowned. “You are so irrational.”

“Really? Have you told Joey that you fired his father? That after what you did, Mr. Wheeler couldn’t get a job anywhere. I’ve seen your ‘blacklist’. Did you tell him yet? That you’re the reason he has to live in that sty? Or that Gozaburo isn’t missing, Kaiba killed him.” Tristan smiled triumphantly and leaned back.


	12. Chapter 12

Monday the 27th

8:13 pm Tanaka Maeda Rehabilitation Clinic

Iwata stood quietly, head bowed as he searched his key ring. Finding the right key, he cut his eyes left to right and back to left. Seeing no one around, he unlocked the door and pushed it open. The lights were dim inside the room as Iwata walked over to the bed. He knelt down beside the bed, reaching across the body in the bed. His pale hands reached up to cup the pale face. He ran his hands through the golden hair. He smiled at his lover as his hands stroked the soft skin and came to rest on a thin strap of leather. “Angel... my beautiful one. May I take this off, please?”

Translucent eyelids raised and plain blue eyes dulled by fear stared at Iwata before the man nodded.

“Good... I hate doing this to you, Angel.” Iwata moved to sit on the bed and unhook the gag. “Now, are you thirsty?”

Mr. Wheeler nodded and waited. Iwata poured the water into a small plastic cup and held it for Wheeler to drink. As he did so, Iwata’s other hand caressed his neck.

“Very good, Angel. The doctors said you should be going home soon. I can’t wait. We’ll keep your apartment for a couple weeks then you can move in with me. You don’t have to worry about a job, I’ll take care of you, I promise.

Mr. Wheeler licked his lips, “I-I-I can’t... my son, I... have to take care of him.”

“No, you don’t. Believe me, Kaiba is taking good care of him. He even got him a whole floor at the hospital. Oh yes, he takes fine care of him, just as I will of you.”

Wheeler swallowed harshly, “Hospital, why is he... what happened?”

“He was a hero, he chose to save Kaiba’s little brother and hit his head. Very noble yet what child of yours wouldn’t be? He takes after you, almost as beautiful yet he is a mere boy. You are a glorious man, a beautiful angel who was brought down by that vicious bitch, but look what you got out of it. Two wondrous children, inheritors to your angelic nature! They have overcome what that sinful bitch did to you. Your daughter resembles her mother but only superficially. Your spirit shines through her.”

“You’ve...” Wheeler licked his lips, “seen her? How?”

“It’s easy to do a small search. Besides it was on all the news and in the papers. The gallant young man who went to duelist’s kingdom and bravely dueled for the chance to win the money for his sister’s eye operation. It was a great story. This is how I know you have a great soul for no mere drunkard could have raised a wondrous child like this. This must be the result of **_her_**. Don’t worry; once you are restored to your true self, I’ll be there to help you. Now and forever.” Iwata leaned forward, his hand pressing Wheeler back. As Wheeler lay supine, Iwata moved so he could lay his own head right over Wheeler’s heart. “Now, let’s just rest. I wish... I wish I could release your arms, but the poison in you is still making you do evil. Last time you tried to hurt me, don’t know why. All I want to do is love you.”

Wheeler’s eyes cut down towards Iwata, locking eyes with him, he smiled sweetly. “I’m sorry... love.”

* * *

8:21 pm Domino City Hospital

“Tris, what’s wrong? Seto didn’t kill anyone! He couldn’t...” Joey protested, struggling to sit up.

Seto pulled him back to the bed. “Don’t get upset, Joey. Tell me Taylor, where did you hear this?”

“Nii-sama, what does it matter where he heard it, it’s a lie! How could you say this Tristan! Just leave!” Mokuba shouted.

“Mokuba, hush... where did you hear this, Taylor?” Seto persisted.

“I heard it on the day, you fired Mother.”

“Then you heard wrong, Taylor. I didn’t kill him, he killed himself. He killed himself with his foolishness, with his arrogance, with his absolute surety that he was perfection. I didn’t mind his death at all! He called me in that day, to tell me that my scores weren’t high enough. He claimed I was still distracted, and he claimed to know what that distraction was. He intended to remove it and outlined what to him must have seemed a perfect plan. He stood right in front of his window and told me that.

“You have to know Gozaburo, he was arrogant. He believed that nothing happened without his permission. Most skyscrapers, the upper floors don’t have glass in their windows, it’s tempered lead glass. They are coated with a plastic film so even if it breaks you can remove it safely, or its safety glass. That wasn’t good enough for him, he had them removed and replaced with real glass. He even sat with his back to the glass, confident that no one would dare shoot him through it.

“After his statement, I started forward, I told him that I was not going to let him send Mokuba to a foster home. I told him that if he did try, I would destroy all his files and kill him. He’s not allowed to touch Mokuba. Everything I went through, all the hell he made me suffer was to benefit my little brother. I would never let him take Mokuba away from me. I must have actually scared him because he backed up; he got upset and spun around. When he did, he tripped over his Moroccan leather chair and fell hard against the glass. It shattered, he fell out. He tried to grab the window frame, the glass shards sliced his hands, he laughed and then let go. So I didn’t kill him, I just watched him die. He fell and laughed. I was just relieved, so... there you have it. He killed himself and I can’t feel sorry about it. I am sorry that I’ve destroyed your idea of me as this evil bastard who pushed him out the window.”

Mokuba just stared at his older brother. “I wouldn’t have left you, no matter what he said. I wouldn’t let him take me from you. You’re my big brother. I promise, Nii-sama, I wouldn’t have let him. I swear!” Mokuba laid his head against Seto’s ribs. “Never.”

“I couldn’t let him, Mokie. So Taylor, are you going to yell this from the top of your lungs?”

Tristan merely grunted.

Joey’s eyes narrowed as he stared at his best friend. “Tris, you were wrong, admit it. Then we gotta make some plans, I’m not just sitting here and waiting for Noa to remember me.”

Seto stared at Tristan, “You are right, I did fire Mr. Wheeler, he was one of about fifteen hundred that I did fire. In his case it was because of the three hundred thousand yen worth of finished products he stole. Of course that was only the amount I could track. The paperwork for everything more than four months earlier were incomplete. So yes, it is my fault Joey lives where he lives. Did you expect me to keep a known thief on my books. Especially one who didn’t care that half the stuff he was stealing were things that were on their way to be destroyed. Destroyed because they had been recalled as dangerous. My company last year paid out over twenty seven million yen in settlements when people sued us over malfunctioning equipment. Five years ago, we made a product that slid over the eyes. It was a games visor that was used to train the Defense Force, a batch of two thousand were recalled when it was discovered that a flaw in the crystal matrix that made up the screen within the visor caused it to shatter when the laser that created the graphics hit it in a certain way. One soldier lost his eyesight. We discovered the flaw and recalled them. Finding it would cost more to refit them than to destroy them and considering that if we did refit them we couldn’t be sure about it’s safety, we decided to destroy them. Last year two of them cost two teenagers their eyesight. According to our paperwork both visors were sent to destruction. According to the facility’s paperwork we didn’t send two thousand, we sent one thousand. Now the sequence numbers were sequential. 78885437 to 98885437. On the destruction facilities paper work it says 78885437 to 88885437. So very easy to change an 8 to a 9 or claim he had bad writing. So that 1000 faulty visors out there, we have only found little under 400 of them. So tell me, Tristan, should I keep someone on my payroll who takes people’s sight? As it is, I didn’t have to blackball him. Once it was found out that he was one of the thieves who sold those extremely dangerous visors, no one wanted him. After all... he obviously does not care for the company at which he works. (repetition of “so”, and there too I’d change some full stop, to keep the sentences more fluid…)

“If he had come to me and said, ‘I took this stuff to make extra money but now I found out it’s dangerous. It must be found!’ I could have worked with that, I still would have fired him, but I wouldn’t have made it impossible for him to find another job. He kept selling it until one of my own undercover operatives bought one off the street from him. He can’t even claim he didn’t know because it was announced several times. However, because Joey refuses to give up on him, I will give him a chance. Against my better judgment, after he completes detox, I will send him to a small job in the motor pool. His work will be checked over every time but he will have a chance. And that’s all I can promise, Joey.”

“It’s more than enough, Seto. It is, but if he fucks up again, fire him. I mean, he always drank, not bad but he did. If he ever comes in drunk or takes even a damn pen, fire him. How could he? Those poor kids...” Joey leaned back, eyes shining with unshed tears. 

Yugi cleared his throat and leaned forward, “Hey Kaiba, which visors are they?”

“Kaiba Corp. ST-549’s. Why?” Seto frowned.

“Well, we have a bunch of old stock, stuff we never sold for one reason or another. We keep them because sometimes people get attached to one particular type and just want a replacement but a few years ago, Grandpa used smaller dealers than he does now. I need to check but we have some old Kaiba Corp. stock. I know they were game visors but a better one came out a few months later.”

“Yes, the 560’s. We pushed up the production as a way to discourage use of the 49’s. Check the stock, Yugi. If you have them, give them to me. I can’t let them stay out there.”

“Of course you can’t. If they are 549’s I’ll call you.”

“Thank you, Yugi. Now Tristan, what else do you have against me? We have to settle this now because if you really are Gatchaman and that’s not just another lie, I may actually need your help.”

“Tristan, even if you don’t do it for him, then help me. We gotta stop him.” Joey asked.

“Of course I’d help him for you, didn’t I already say that?” Tristan leaned back. “The fact that you have reasons doesn’t mean you didn’t ruin my life or Joey’s. After you took over and fired my mother, everything went wrong, that is your fault no matter what ‘reasonable’ reason you come up with. However, the sooner started, the sooner ended and I so want this over.”

“Fine. It’s already eight thirty. School tomorrow. I’ll call down and have cars take you home. You shouldn’t be alone.” Seto stood up and flipped open his phone. “Joey is going to be moved to a more secure location.”

A knock on the door brought all eyes to the man standing in the doorway, “Don’t you think you should be asking me if I’ll let you? I don’t care who you are Kaiba. I will not let you move him if I think it’s dangerous. Get whoever you need in here to tell me what they have for him and I’ll consider letting you move him.”

“Doctor. Tell me what you want and I’ll set it up, but someone tried to kill Mokuba and Joey. I can _not_ realistically allow other patients to be put in danger. It lowers share price when Kaiba Corp. or myself looks to be insensitive to our consumers. In addition, Joey has to be more protected. Worrying your patients with increased presence would not be conducive to their recuperation. One moment.” Seto listened to the other person on the phone. “Hai, Mudaro call the in-house physician and one of the rooms in the suite set up to house Joey. Until further notice, we are going to live on that floor. Inform the school that Joey, Mokuba, and I will be doing remote schooling. Assign cars to Tristan, Marik, Bakura, Shadi, and Yugi. Also I want video cameras set up in the rooms to record our lesson. Get the usual tutors. Make sure Wheeler is locked down, whoever is doing this may try to use Joey’s dad to get Joey. Serenity and Mrs. Wheeler stay on the mountain. Have food delivered by copter but no one goes to or from the town.”

The doctor nodded. “Very well, and just a small question. I’ve been waiting for your discussion to end, I can’t even say I understand this much. However it seems that you think someone can break the encryption on your VR to interfere with the minds of the people who are using your equipment. You are a very intelligent young man, Mr. Kaiba but you aren’t expert on anything. Seek out the experts. Who was actually in charge of writing the code, making the interface, the one who has the experience? You may understand it but not as... intimately as the one who has worked on it non-stop for years. That’s how we do it. I mean, my specialty is neurology with particular interest in comas. When he came in with a coma, there were several doctors much more experienced than me. Several who have been working in real practice for the past ten or more years. I, however, have spent the past seven years working on the effects comas have on the developing mind and how to bring teens out. That’s why they called me in. Could he have a better surgeon? Probably, but that surgeon while more experienced, does not understand the delicacies that I spent my life in studying. What may work with most people may be adverse with developing mind. So, go to experts. Don’t be too proud.” The doctor smiled and looked at Joey. “And no matter what, I’ll see you at the very least every other day for check ups, but you’re lucky, Joey, you’re hard-headed.”

Seto smirked and squeezed Joey’s hand. “That he is. Very well, I’ll have my physician call you within the next half hour. The cars are waiting for you downstairs. They’ll be by tomorrow to pick you up to take to and from school.” 

Yugi stood up and stretched, “Thank you, Kaiba. 

Mokuba smiled up at his brother. “That’s my Big Brother!”

Tristan shook his head as he snorted with disgust before heading out. Bakura smirked and stood up, wrapping on arm around Ryou. He steered his hikari out the door. “And that’s who you’re gonna work with for the next ten weeks. Wait till he finds out you’re rich.”

Shadi, Isis, Malik and Rashid stood and bowed to Seto. Rashid smiled and took Malik’s hand. Shadi stared at them with his sightless eyes, before nodding. As the others left, he whispered. “Peace follow you, my friends.”

Seto nodded slightly and sat back down. Pulling back the curtain from the other bed in the room, he pushed Mokuba towards it slightly. “Lay down.”

Mokuba nodded and climbed into the bed. Seto moved his seat between the two beds as his phone rang. “Yes?”

* * *

Time Irrelevant The Internet

Noa broke the surface of the shimmering waves. Turning around, he brought Nkosi closer. “Here, I found this place a couple of years ago. Whoever this Gatchaman is, they’ve been breaking into Kaiba Corp. and stealing as much data from them as possible. They don’t seem to be selling it, just keeping it. I’ve found traces of even my program on there but no real amount, he doesn’t keep it there. Does he suspect, I am here? I doubt it. However, we don’t need to _take_ a file, just copy it. And to do so, I must get closer. Look carefully, my other self. Tell me if you see anything happening.”

“Of course.” Nkosi moved closer, resting his head on Noa’s shoulder. Noa laughed as they lifted out of the opalescent liquid and stood before a block of dark gray granite. Slowly the two of them moved around it, before Noa stopped and pulled aside was seemed to be a panel made of cloth.

“First wall, follow.” Noa led them inside this stone block to a cocoon. Noa pointed to the small crystals threaded on the strands of the cocoon. “Those are alarms, be very careful as we get through. First we must be as ghosts.”

“Very well.” Nkosi nodded as his self faded to a slivery shade. “After this, what?”

“If he hasn’t changed anything then we will spy a wooden cage next.” Noa took the ephemeral hand and drifted through the webbing, his passage barely disturbing the crystal. When the crystals floated towards them, they stood still until they had passed through. Slowly the threads thinned and they could see faintly through the web. Suddenly, the webbing disappeared and before them before rose thick bars of a bamboo cage. The distinctive segments stood out in stark relief. 

“Damn, he’s moved the bars closer to the webbing. It will be hard to get through without disturbing the crystals. Wait.” Noa reached out and ran his fingers over the segments, pressing slightly, tugging slightly. Silently he took Nkosi’s arm and pressed them close to the bamboo, leading his other self, he moved to the left. He ghosted his fingers over the bamboo as they traveled around the cage. Feeling one give he stopped. Gently he took out first one then another piece. Grinning, he kept it up until he had 10 pieces. “Quick get in. I must replace them in the same order quickly.”

Nkosi nodded and jumped through. Noa followed barely a step behind; silently he turned around and replaced them quickly. Seeing the next step, he sighed. “ICE!”

“Can’t it be melted?” Nkosi stared at it.

“No, my _friend_ , this isn’t ice. It’s ICE. It stands for Intrusive Countermeasures, Electronic. That means anything that attacks it, it will return it with not just the same measure of force but twice the amount. It is dangerous.”

“So how do we get through?”

“Ahhh, we talk to it.”

“Talk. We _talk_ to it?” Nkosi stared at him.

“Yes, if we have the right words and numbers the ice will become as permeable as fog. We copy what we need to then replace it and off we go.”

Nkosi nodded, “I see, well speak its language.”

Noa laughed before leaning over it and whispering softly. Soon a pearlescent mist rose from the ice block. It filled in the entire area of the cage. Noa knelt down, blowing the mist away. In the middle stood a simple wooden box, a dodecahedron that measured perhaps 10 inches on a side. Each face held 1000 slots. In each was nestled a tangle of green light. Noa reached out with one slim pale finger to touch first one tangle, feeling a slight tingle. Shaking his head, he moved to the next one. After trying a few, he nodded. Reaching in his pocket, he pulled out a small clear ball. Inside was a twist of smoke. Silently, he pressed the ball to the tangle he selected and slowly the twist of smoke in the ball became a tangle of electronic green light. Handing it to Nkosi, he continued down the row, seemingly at random.

“What is this?”

“It’s a new file. I copy all of Gatchaman’s files. After all who knows when I’ll need the information and let’s not forget he loves to steal Kaiba Corp.’s data. This is one of my best links in Kaiba Corp.” Noa pointed to the globe. Turning he kept checking the files. “And that, my * _friend*_ , is one of the newest of the stolen files. A list of all the places the pods have been shipped. And this... this is what we need. A copy of the VR program source code.”

* * *

8:30 pm

In a small apartment, off a side street, a slight buzzing sounded in the dark. On the back of the tower an eclipsed green light flickered on and off. It lasted maybe ten minutes before it faded. The slight purring while the computer ran stopped and silence fell once again.

* * *

8:35 pm Outside Domino Hospital

Yugi stared as Tristan burst his way out of the hospital. He sighed with resignation over Tristan’s manner, or lack of them.

_//Yugi what is wrong with him?//_ Yami asked, perplexed.

_//He’s scared, I think. Tristan doesn’t really have anything to do with the Shadow Realm or play Duel Monsters. He was always just there to help us. He did it because he is our friend. And that was fine because in the end, it all worked out. Only those of us who had the Items had anything to do with the Shadow Realm and it was really dangerous but we had the Items to help us. Now Joey is involved, with no Item, in danger, and Tristan sees Kaiba as trying to take Joey away from him.//_ Yugi whispered back. _//Yami, he * **hates** * Kaiba. I’m worried what will happen if he keeps acting like this. We need to work together.//_

_//I know, we must help him overcome this. I’ve seen people like Kaiba both in this time and in mine. I remember Seferet as a man who would do anything to preserve my reign. Even when it cost him the one person he loved almost as much as I, Jahi. If he had asked I would have given him the Millennium Items to trade for Jahi but he didn’t ask. To him, I was the god king, son of the sun. I may have been his brother but I was also the pharaoh and he would do anything for me. I do mean anything. As children he would sacrifice anything, take any punishment, no matter what for his siblings. As an adult, he would have killed Jahi as a sacrificed if I so demanded it. That’s how loyal and faithful he was. That’s exactly how he is now. He will do anything to accomplish his goal. Anything even if it means sacrificing everything he is. Tristan can not see this and we can’t risk a misunderstanding. It’s getting too dangerous.//_

_//Yes, but what can we do?//_ Yugi watched as a group of men approached them. All in dark suits, they didn’t smile. 

“You are Yugi Muto?” One asked.

“Hai.”

“I am Tanaka. I will be your escort tonight. Tomorrow, I must ask you to wait inside the store until the escort comes for you. Master Kaiba takes your safety seriously.”

A snort from over Tristan’s way distracted Yugi. Nodding, he headed for the car. At the last minute he turned and waved goodbye before getting into the back seat of the car. The tints on the windows were so dark that the street lights cast feeble glows within the car.

_//Why are the windows so dark? I can’t see where we are going?//_ Yami complained.

_//We don’t need to know, Yami. They do. If it’s so hard for us to see out than it must be as hard for people to see in.//_

_//True. I’m wondering what Nkosi will do next. I know that Kaiba believe Nkosi to be suffering from a disorder of the mind. If this is so, would it be repeated in Noa? If Noa’s body is artifice then would not he be spared from this disorder? Or is this disorder part of the very energy of the mind? Nkosi no longer has a brain, he rather exists in as part of Noa’s. As I do as part of yours. How then is Nkosi part of the artificial Noa? Did Gozabaro accidentally copy him? Did he know about this second part and perhaps that is the reason he didn’t want Noa to inherit? So many questions, so few answers. Is there even a way to save Nkosi? Or shall I have to destroy him... my brother.//_

Yugi bit his lip and stared into the window. The tint reflected his face back at him. _//I don’t know! I... Yami why does all this have to happen now?//_

_//That I do not know either, beloved, but for whatever reason it is happening remember that I am with you and always shall be. Always.//_

Yugi felt the slight pressure of Yami’s touch, then a slight breath blew across his cheek before phantom lips pressed against him. A tongue moved into his mouth, a tingling sensation suffused him. It pressed deeper into him. Yugi moaned, hand flailing against the buttons on the back of the front seats. A sheet of black glass rose silently. Yugi felt a subtle pressure pushing him backwards. Sighing, he reached up to press against Yami. _//Wait, we are almost home.//_

_//They can not see us, nor do I believe they care.//_

_//Yes, but the seat belt is digging in my back. Once we are home... bed!//_

_//Very well, my love.//_

Yugi blushed as the car slowed. He moved to open the door but it wouldn’t open. Frowning, he tried again. A tap on the glass caused him to jump back. A few seconds later the door was opened from the outside. Tanaka held out one hand. 

“My partner has gone to get your grandfather. I must ask you to stay inside the shop until one of us comes to the door tomorrow.”

“Okay but... isn’t this a little... extreme?” Yugi asked as he levered himself out the car.

“Isn’t casting a fusillade of armor piercing bullets into a crowd and through the crowd into an elementary school full of innocent children extreme?” Tanaka asked, eyes scanning. As they approached the door to the shop, Yugi looked at the other man. Tanaka nodded, “Mr. Muto, Yugi, this is Mr. Qin. He is the second of four bodyguards that Mr. Kaiba has assigned to him. Tomorrow, we shall introduce you to the other two. Please keep, young Mr. Muto inside until we come to the door for him.”

Grandpa shook his head, “Ummm yes, of course. However it is getting late and Yugi must go to sleep.”

Tanaka nodded, “Yes, we will pick you up 30 minutes before school start. Have a good night.” Reaching out he closed the door and waited until he heard the lock turn before they walked back to the car. Silently both men opened their doors and settled in for the night.

Yugi shrugged and hugged his grandfather before he headed upstairs. He laughed as he washed up. All the while, Yami whispered of the pleasures he would show Yugi once they were in their inner realm. Yugi bit his lip, trying not to say something out loud. Soon enough Yugi slipped beneath his sheets, the blinds on his window were raised. Shining with slightly golden light, the moon’s beam poured over him with delicate sheen. A slight whisper of air against his cheek caused him to close his eyes. Phantom lips pressed against his, a slightly buzzing sensation filled his mouth. Yugi whimpered softly, a small sound, electric teeth grazing over a bitten lip. Gasping, Yugi opened his eyes to see golden stone lit by a fat gold tinged moon. Under him were light gauzy sheets. Above him, eyes of clear violet stared down at him. 

Whispers of ancient Egyptian tickled in his mind. He knew they were words of love but the words themselves escaped him. Yami chuckled, his tongue lapping down Yugi’s chest. His tongue swept over the pale mocha nipples. 

_Mother Nut, who holds the lights of life, lights a path to your heart. Sister Isis, lover to the gods and earth teaches you to sings of your soul. Brother Horus, he who speaks the perfect words speaks of your heart. Father Aten, giver of life, breathes breath into your lungs. And for this, I pray every day,_

_As I share you breath, listen to your heart, listen to your soul. And may it sing to me in the Valley beyond._

Yugi shivered, fingers twisting amoung the black strands of Yami’s hair. “Please!” 

Yami laughed, teeth grazing over Yugi’s flesh. His hand reached down, slipping over firm skin to unbuckle a thin beaten gold belt. Deft fingers untangled the fine linen kilt. Reaching lower his hand cupped the slim cock, cradling the firm balls. “My light, my heart, my soul. If I had the words, if I was as elegant in my words as my dear brother I would be able to paint a picture of my love for you. Alas I can’t so I must show you. In this world, in this place, I am not Hunefer, son of the sun but rather ‘nefer, your love. Your Yami.

“Yes. Please!” Yugi bucked up, pressing his firmness against Yami’s thigh. 

Yami’s hand ran over the smooth skin. Leaning close, he let his hand drop to the stone floor and picked up a translucent purple bottle. It sat perfectly in his palm. Carved from a single large agate, the thin oily liquid inside quivered gently. Tipping it carefully, he caught a few small drops on his fingers, slicking them nicely. Holding it firmly by the neck, in front of Yugi’s face, he pressed his lover closer to him. Hand cupping the tight buttock, he sucked merrily on the smaller’s neck. “Take the vial, Yugi. I want you to prepare yourself.”

Frantically, he grabbed the bottle, a sharp edge slicing along the Egyptian’s thumb. Yami pulled himself away with a groan, his hand cradling himself. He watched as his other half poured the fragrant rich oil into his hand. The faintly pink liquid warmed slowly in his palm. Yami stared as he reached down, one leg rising.

“No, meryt. Tonight, I give myself to you. Tonight, take pleasure in me.” He reached out, fingers wrapping around the small wrist. “Prepare yourself, and I will prepare myself for this, our first time as such.”

The violet eyed young man turned a sweet smile to his lover. He moved the palmful of fagrant oil to himself. Tipping his hand slowly, he poured it over his straining erection. The thick red tip hot and hard to the touch. The firm flesh heated the oil which in turn stimulated him. Grasping the firm flesh with one hand he stroked himself, the other rolled and massaged his balls.

Oil slick fingers swiped through and over the oil soaked groin of his lover. Smiling, he reached around himself, levering his legs wide. Moaning, he slipped one finger inside himself, trying to cover the inside of his passage. He flexed the digit, teeth biting down on his own lip. His cock bobbed as he rode his fingers. His lids lowered slowly until all Yugi could see was a round curve of crimson burning into his own eyes. His arm flexed and jumped as the former pharaoh prepared himself. Head tossed back, he whimpered as he slipped a second finger in. From under his lids, he could see his lover panting, lips fat and wet from being bitten. Leaning back, he spread his legs. “Come Yugi, my playful love.”

Yugi bent forward and wrapped slick fingers over his lovers’ hip. Fingers digging into the firm flesh harshly. He knew he would leave bruises but why should he care. For tonight, Yami was his. This man who was a great a powerful pharaoh, who held great powers of magic, who commanded legions was his tonight. He pulled Yami close, one hand guiding himself to his lover’s opening.

“Thank you.” Slim hands pressed deeply into his flesh. He could feel the pleasurable burn as his lover pressed in slowly. Millenia had passed before this day but he regretted only one thing, that it took so long. Arcing back, he felt Yugi’s small, sharp teeth break through the thin flesh right below his neck. Then everything went white.

* * *

8:50 pm 

Seto groaned as he dragged one hand across his face. Blinking sleepily he moved to sit up. His head hit the top of the car and a yelp was forced out of him. Joey smirked, “Didn’t hear me telling ya not to stand up, did ya?”

“If I had do you think I would have done it?” Seto snapped, sitting gently back into the seat. He stared at Joey’s look of hurt. “I’m not my best when I wake up. And why are we at the house?”

“Umm first thing, the guards didn’t want to wake you or Mokuba up, so they just left us here in this garage. Second, the doc apparently left a message that it would take several hours to set the rooms up at Kaiba Corp. So they said they didn’t want to just drive around so they came here. Don’t worry, they’ve been making sure, I wake up every hour. Don’t know why. One would think they’d let me sleep.” Joey complained, yawning. 

Seto’s eye grew hard, “You’ve been sleeping for four days. And they have to wake you every hour for twenty four hours so they know you aren’t going back into a coma.”

Joey nodded, patting Mokuba’s hair. Silently he got up and moved sides so that he could sit next to Seto. “Are you angry at me?”

“Why would I be angry? Where are the guards?”

“One’s in the front seat, and you keep looking at me with meanness. I didn’t mean to get myself in the hospital. All I could think of is saving Mokuba and how pissed you’d be if I let anything happen to him.”

Seto turned indigo ice onto Joey’s face. Raising one hand, he knocked on the tinted window of the limo. “Mokuba has been trained. He would have jumped down and hid under the stair well.”

The door was yanked open, a guard standing quietly as Seto got out. He threw orders over his shoulder, “Call Kisigawa and have him come here. Put Joey in his regular room.”

Joey sighed and moved slowly. The other guard lowered a hand for Joey to lever himself out. “Ya know I didn’t expect you to be so... bitchy. If you’re gonna have a problem, I can go crash at Yuge’s.”

Seto whirled around, his coat flying behind him. A swift handsign and the guards left. The right side of his mouth lifted in a smirk. Eyes sparked with heat and mischief, “No. You can’t.”

“Yeah, and who’s going to stop me?!”

“You are. You signed a contract, you gave your word, and you still owe me four questions. Now, the guard will take you to your room. I’ll see you later."

Joey grit his teeth and allowed a small growl to creep out of his throat, “No. You’re being a cranky bastard and after I thought maybe you were human after all!”

Seto growled, moving closer, “Well we know how off your judgment is considering that you don’t consider yourself mortal, Joseph! Or maybe it’s that you don’t _think_ you’re mortal. Is that it? You can’t think? Do you understand that you were in coma? That’s a living death but that’s ok because you’re immortal, aren’t you?!”

“NO! I’m not but I had to do something, they were shooting at Mokuba!”

“He knows how to hide! Do you think I’m such a horrid brother I didn’t have him taught that?! You just had to listen to him!” Seto grabbed Joey’s shirt. Pulling Joey closer, his voice hissing in Joey’s ear. “You almost got yourself killed. Then what? We wait another hundred years?!”

Joey’s eyes narrowed. “Wait, you’re * _pissed_ * that I protected Mokuba rather than hiding? You utter ass.”

Seto’s eyes grew colder and harder than one ever though possible. “Tell me, Joseph... if it had been the opposite? If I had put myself in a coma by being inexcusably clumsy in defense of your sister? If it had been I who did this? Tell me, answer this Question!”


	13. Chapter 13

****

Chapter 13

9:04 pm On the way home to Ryou's House

Ryou stared at the silently fuming Tristan. He squeezed his friend’s hand as they pulled into his driveway. Feeling Tristan’s hand twitch, Ryou let out his breath exasperated and released him. Firm fingers reached over and curled around his. Surprised, he looked up into dark chestnut eyes. _//He’s as bad about Seto as you are, my Bakura_

_//I do not have anything in common with that pointy headed ass.//_ Bakura growled.

_//As you wish, pretty one.//_

_//RYOU!!!!//_

Ryou smiled slightly at his other half exasperated tone, “Tristan, why are you so upset?”

“It... I don’t like how this is going. I know... it’s just that Kaiba seems to be very relaxed with rearranging everything to suit him. For example, this. He didn’t ask if we wanted it, he just assigned it to us. He expects us to come to him beck and call. He... dictates stuff to us and tells us what we will be doing. And we obey. He may have been some high priest 5000 years ago but he isn’t now!”

Ryou nodded, trying to open the car door. He stared at the bodyguard who stood next to the door, holding it for them. “No, he’s a young man who is loyal, faithful, devoted to his family. A family that until recently consisted of himself and Mokuba. Mokuba, who is a child six years younger than Kaiba. A little brother who is content to listen and do as his brother says. He doesn’t really know how to deal with people his age who are his equal. Everyone his age is either less knowledgeable or less organized. Except now, he has to work with us and he doesn’t know how. Give him time to learn. He’s not perfect and he’s not the most knowledge one for once. 

Tristan stared at him, half out of the car, “It’s amazing.”

“What?” Ryou wondered perplexed as he waited for Tristan to catch up.

“That you can be so forgiving... but I think that’s one of the things I like most about you. I’m sorry to just rant. Hmmm maybe we should work on the project.” Tristan stared at the house door opening. A guard stood there, bowing as he waited for them to enter. Beyond him was a long gold oak varnished table. Three matching straight back chairs sat on each side with one each at head and foot.

Ryou nodded, “Sure, for a little while. My mother was from England. We have tons of books on history and literature during that time. Father collected an extensive library. Mother used to read to me from them every night. I loved it, ancient tales of magic and mystery. Perhaps we can do a part on the literature of the time. If I remember we only have to study the history of our country during the time and there are many clues if you look for them in the stories and legends of the times.”

Tristan smiled at him. “Sure thing.” Tristan turned to the guard, “Who are you?”

_//Who the damn is in our house?!//_

“I am Mr. Tinatu. I am one of four guards assigned to young master Ryou. The four guards assigned to you, master Tristan, are on their way over. Since I know you have been at the hospital visiting with Master Joey, I took the liberty to prepare a meal. Please sit down, dinner is on the stove. I will now take my leave. Tinatu walked over to the front door, turning the lock on the knob, he closed the door behind him. A flash of light and two Ryou’s stood there.

“Bakura.”

“Pointy.”

Ryou stared at the two of them and rolled his eyes. Moving his bookbag out of his way, he headed for the kitchen. “Let’s eat first. Then Tristan and I will work on our project.”

“I bet... where? In your _bed_ room?” Bakura growled and dropped into one of the chairs around the table.

Ryou came out holding three plates, precariously balanced. Tristan stepped forward and took two of them, eyes staring into warm chocolate brown eyes. “Let me help you, Ryou.”

Bakura stared at them. Growling he stood up and reached for plate. His other half turned that sweet smile onto him. “Baku, this one is yours; I’ve given you more meat.”

He took the plate and placed it on the table. Grabbing one of the plates, he held it up asking silently.

“That’s Tristan’s.” Ryou took his plate from his friend and placed it next to Bakura’s plate. He pulled out the seat on the other side of him, “Why don’t you sit here.”

Bakura pushed Tristan’s plate towards the foot of the table. “How about here?”

Frowning, Ryou reached over and brought it to the proper seat. “Bakura.” _//You promised to behave. You said you had no problem with us working on the project, so what’s wrong?//_

_//Why did you bring him back here!//_

A light rose mantled Ryou’s cheeks. _//I didn’t want to be alone.//_

_//I see.//_ Bakura stood up. “Go home, kelptl!”

_//Bakura! I didn’t mean it like that. Come back here!//_ Ryou leaned his head back.

“What’s his problem?” Tristan shook his head and kept eating.

“What’s your problem with Kaiba? It’s all the same thing. You’re both jealous. You’re jealous of Seto because Joey wants to spend more time with him. Bakura is jealous of you because he thinks you want to spend time with me the way Joey spends time with Seto. And please don’t be offended but I’m sick of both of you! Get over it. Joey and Seto are in love! Maybe it’s lust, maybe after they have sex for a while they’ll get over it. Perhaps you and Bakura should do the same!” Ryou leaned down and grabbed his bookbag. As he walked to the room, he called out, “Use one of the spare rooms.”

Tristan stared as one of the two young men of his dreams walked away. Pissed, he takes the plates into the kitchen. Placing the plates in the refrigerator, he headed down the hall. Opening doors, exploring the small house. Soon he came upon the library. It seemed like a small piece of England in a house that was Japanese as anywhere. It was panel all in the same golden oak as the table. Hunter green, claret red, and ebony were present in leather couches and wingback chairs. The desk was ebony dark with a traditional green blotter. Above were two large hanging lights, turned off. In the library were scattered several small table, it was upon one sat a traditional green banker’s lamp. It’s dark wine green glass shade tilted down so the light was diffuse. It cast what little light it gave onto a claret leather wingback chair, a silver head peeking over the top of it. Silently, he walked up behind the chair and looked over the occupant’s shoulder. A book lay opened on Bakura’s lap. On it was a photograph of an ancient Egyptian tomb. In vertical lines were written several hieroglyphics. Tristan leaned forward, voice low, “You can read that?”

Bakura turned towards him, “Yes, it’s a poem.”

“What does it say?”

Bakura shut the book, holding his page with his thumb. “Why do you want to know?”

“Because you seem interested in it. And Ryou suggested that I try to ahhh find some common ground with you. So what are you reading?” 

Bakura smirked, “Poetry, Ancient Poetry. Love Poetry. Gay Love Poetry. It’s a tomb fragment of a healer in the palace, he was married to one of the clerks. Apparently the healer worked through a plague and saved many people but succumbed to the plague himself.”

“Read me some?” Tristan asked quietly.

Bakura stared at him then gave a short nod. “Sit.”

“Ntwh gkTh stnel.”

Tristan rolled his eyes. “In this language please?”

_“Nights I stay awake without hope Lonely I walk the streets. In front of your window I spend my sad hours._

_How I long to meet you again, To find our old joy once more, To give you my kisses again So my black sadness will leave me_

_But there where you are in a strange place, Who knows where you wander now? I wonder if you still think of me.”_

Tristan moved closer. “Wow. Does it say who wrote it?”

“One of palace scribes no doubt. Why? Does it make you...” his tongue flickered out to moisten his pale lips as he leaned closer to the taller boy. “uncomfortable?”

Tristan leaned closer, his lips a breath away from Bakura, “No matter what you think, that’s not why I’m so pissed off at Seto. He didn’t make Joey gay, Joey always was.”

Translucent lids blinked, and blinked again over dark burgundy orbs. Pale rose lips parted. Chuckling, Tristan leaned in to kiss Bakura softly. “He always was. Now me, on the other hand, I’m a very good at camouflage. Do you really want to know what Ryou told me to do?”

_//Ryou! What the hell is this baka going on about?//_ “That pansy probably told you to spread your legs for me. That’s in his nature. He’s a pretty fuck, and he mews like a kitten!”

_//Handle him yourself, Bakura!//_

Tristan’s hand came up to cup Bakura’s cheek as the other flinched. Moving closer, he pressed the pale boy back into the chair. “Actually, he thinks you and I are fighting each other because we both want him. He told me that you and I should just ‘fuck’ and get it over with. One small problem, you’re just too cute to fuck and forget so I think you and I will be spending some time together. Maybe even spend some time sharing Ryou. Would you like that? You inside him, taking him hard, while I take you? Is that why Ryou told me to ‘fuck’ you? Are you _dreaming_ of me? Tell me, Baku- _chan_ , how do you want me?” Pale lips met his and gave back as good as they got. Intensity increasing, he opened his mouth, his tongue flicking, tasting, begging entrance. Small sharp teeth bit into the firm flesh of Tristan’s bottom lip. The coppery taste of blood filled his mouth. A cool breeze stung the bite mark as Bakura moved back. A drop of blood trickled it was over the sun darkened chin.

“Back off before I do more than just bite you.” Amber feral eyes glared from pale lids. Lashes lost against the flesh.

“But you like my doing that, Bakura. You like it. I’ve noticed several... bites on Ryou. So I know it’s not my exceptional body that makes you shudder. So what is it? Is it my interest in Ryou? Is that it? Ryou is... so pretty. He’s delicate and soft; he’s like all that is good in a woman with the body of man. Except you don’t just want that, do you, Ba-ka-re? You sometimes want the strength, the hardness, the sheer presence of a man who knows he’s a man. You want the jock, the wide shoulder, trim waist, muscles, and arrogance of a man. That’s me. I can give you all that. This way you can have a soft, sweet, gentle man for you to protect and a strong, reliable man to be your friend and lover. Think about it.” Tristan whispered as he licked Bakura’s ear.

Bakura turned away, one hand against the other young man’s chest. “Thinking is overrated.”

A rich laugh drifted up as the taller boy fell backwards. Grinning, he grabbed Bakura’s shirt as he fell, pulling him on top. Without a pause, lips met again. Teeth clashed, tongues dueled. Hands clenched and unclenched in hair. Bakura laughed drunkenly as he pulled back. His slim hands pushed Tristan against the plush hunter green carpet that blanketed the floor of the study. “Be a good boy and open those legs.”

A smirk twisted on the other young man’s face as he bucked up, the mound of his cloth covered cock brushed against the thin tan cloth of Bakura’s slacks. Meeting Bakura’s hardness with some of his own, he chuckled. “Make me, pretty boy. You’re too used to Ryou just letting you take him, if you want me you will have to fight!”

A leg thrust up, twining around a mate, and a quick side thrust of the hip cause the positions to be reversed. Tristan looked down on Bakura, one hand gently caressing. “Tell me, you’ve no doubt seen Ryou’s lips as they wrapped around your cock. His pale pale lips. Almost colorless thin lips, with just a blush of rose. You’ve seen them get thicker and redder as they sucked on you so sweetly. Your other self, your image. Tell me, is he a good cocksucker? Are you?”

“Many have asked, few actually know. But you want to know don’t you? Perhaps you want to taste me? Is that what I’ll make you do? I would love to see you on your knees. Ryou would watch, lying prettily on the bed. After you’ve lubed me up, I’ll take him hard while I keep you shackled to the wall. You’d be a nice pet with proper training and a collar.”

“If ever we do that, it will by mutual consent, beautiful. Why do you fight me? I’m offering you what you need. A strong lover to be bitten, fucked hard, bruise. You need me... and I need you. Ryou is as beautiful as he is fragile. We would break him in our passion, in our rough behavior. So let us satisfy each other.” Tristan leaned down and bit Bakura’s neck harshly. Teeth digging in deeper, white teeth being stained pink as oxygen rich red blood welled up. It rolled slowly over the translucent flesh until it changed the color of the pale blue shirt. Tristan growled as the blood dried and became tacky. He slowly shook his head, wiggling the teeth in the wound, breaking the slight bond that would have held them fast.

Creamy fingers held his head down as Bakura surged up. “You marked me, you damn bastard! And you will pay for it, oh yes you will...”

Tanned lips pressed against the flesh, sucking hard to leave a vivid purple mark. Fingers digging into a pale hip. Suddenly something pushed hard into Tristan’s stomach, forcing him to lose his breath explosively. As it blew out from between his lips, he rolled off of Bakura. “Damn it.”

“I don’t appreciate being marked by _anyone_!” Bakura rolled over and grabbed both of Tristan’s hand in his. “Until you can learn to keep your teeth to yourself, I think I’m going to have to tie you up.”

The other boy laughed. “Very well, you’re right, I should have asked permission. So here, since I am the better man, I’ll ask your permission.”

“For?”

Tristan laughed, bucking up and pressing his so very hard cock against Bakura’s ass. “Not that, I’ll ask your permission to get undressed.”

“Why? I was thinking of showing you what I did with Noa’s clothes.” Tossing the ring around to his back, he pulled out his ever present knife, placing the tip against the collar of his captive’s shirt. Grinning, he pressed the tip through the material until a well of blood rose up to stain the shirt. “I’ve also thought about your proposal. I’m not sure you’re worth my time, we’ll see...” Laughing, he drew the blade down, slicing through the shirt and cutting slightly into the flesh underneath. Then he moved over three inches and cut another line into the cloth. Cutting a third line, he used his teeth and one hand to knot them together. Swiftly he wrapped the strips around Tristan’s wrists. “Now just two more for a gag.”

“No. Cut me, slap me, bite me, but no gag. Not now, not ever. I’ll do anything else for you.”

Bakura stared into the young man’s eyes, giving a short nod. Standing up, he pulled Tristan to his feet by his bound hands. “Stay. Move and you may lose something necessary.”

Tristan stood. His shirt hanging half off his body. With swift sure cuts, Bakura cut up the back of the shirt, the razor sharp knift lightly cutting a thin line up his spine. Two shallow cuts along the sleeves and they dropped off leaving only tiny cuts already dripping slow trails of blood. A growl of tearing denim preceeded a cool draft on the tanned legs. A small drop of blood rolled down the leg to stain the white cotton socks. A leg thrust between Tristan’s, almost knocking him off balance. The knife tip pressed in, close to the femoral artery. “I could kill you, so easily, right now. I knick this artery and you’ll die before the ambulance can get here. So trust me, you don’t want to move. Otherwise I may cut something else you like more.”

Tristan shivered at the tone of Bakura’s woods and spread his legs wider. As the last shreds of the jeans fell away, Bakura leaned forward. Small sharp teeth clamped into the firm flesh, burning as they penetrated the skin to the left and right of the femoral artery. The tiny canine teeth pricked the muscle beneath the flesh. Above, Tristan whimpered and struggled to stay upright. Soon the pain faded to a thumping dull pulse. Until Bakura opened his mouth wider, stretching the skin around those ivory needles. Pulling them out, he leaned back and stood up, his white shining flesh pressed against the warm brown of the young man who he was claiming. Smiling, teeth stained dark pink, viscous drops of dark red blood rolled over his lips and down his chin.

“Do this and you’re mine, do you understand? I don’t share.”

“Except with Ryou, you’ll share with me and Ryou won’t you?” Chocolate eyes stared into luminous eyes the color of dried blood.

“What you and that little one do is none of my business as long as it doesn’t interferes with my plans and as long as you realize you both belong to me. That means if I ever catch you with anyone else, you will regret it, truly.”

“Fine.”

Smirking the bat-winged haired young man jerked the other forward by his bound hands. Forced to his knees, Tristan stared up at the devilish one. In his hands, a bronze hilted blade was held before him. The blade itself shone with blue-gray sheen. Along the blade, light wavered over the many folds on the edge. The blade measured a foot and a half. Narrow, it came to a razor sharp point. The handle was simple flat bronze though it seemed to be writing on a small plaque. The starlight haired young man held the blade at a forty five degree angle and placed it before Tristan’s lips. Brown eyes stared into maroon eyes, before lips pressed against the blade. A flicker of pink as the lips parted, breath dimming the sheen. The blade moved away, beckoning the lips to follow and follow they did. Pink tongue danced patterns all over the metal, not even losing rhythm when a jar disturbed the blade. A rasp of metal teeth and a slump, rustle of cloth. The blade danced away. Tristan whined.

“No... but don’t worry, it’s always with me. Right now, I need a little relief and you will give it to me.” Thin fingers reached out and grabbed his chin. 

Pulling him closer, Tristan noticed that Bakura now wore nothing except his shirt. The shirttail played peekaboo with his eyes. In a silky tangled nest of shimmering hair, dancing with every move he made was a long slim pale column of flesh. Leaning forward, he buried his nose in the almost invisible patch, breathing deeply. Pressure on the crown of his head forced him to go lower, lips dancing and tasting until they reached the leaking tip. His tongue rolled around the head, wiping off the slightly sweet precome that clung to it. The taste exploded in his mouth, eyes closing, he opened his lips and took in as much as he could. The hand on his head clenched, a fist wrenched his hair. A low moan sounded above him; giving a shake of his head, he concentrated on tasting, licking, pleasing Bakura. Laughing slightly as he looked up at the normally cruel face lost in pleasure, he saw his lover’s knees bend slightly. Realizing that the laughter caused some very... interesting reactions, he started to hum. He kept sucking, moving back and forth slowly. Suddenly the soft hair at the base of Bakura’s cock tickled his nose. Realizing he had all of Bakura in his mouth, he grabbed Bakura’s hips. Something was tugging at him. With a cry he let go, whining. Eyes traveled up to meet burning maroon eyes. 

“It’s wet enough. Now suck my fingers. How wet you get them will determine how much lube you get.” Bakura held his hand out before Tristan’s lips. 

Tristan nodded, lips parting, he took the middle three fingers inside his mouth. Tongue dancing, twisting, twining. Moaning and frantic, he sucked and soaked those fingers. 

“By the one who devours the soul, you are very good at this. Are you sure you haven’t practiced this, say with... Joey?”

Words muffled slightly by the fingers, he replied, “No one but you. I have dreamed of this but no, I haven’t practiced with anyone.”

“Then this is all natural talent, one you will not be sharing without anyone else. Enjoy. Now on your hands and knees.”

Bakura pulled up on the slim hips and two fingers pressed against the tight ring. Not too gently, they pressed in, moving back and forth, opening the brown haired boy. He smiled as the sable haired young man grunted and whimpered. He struggled to stay upright, his muscles flexing. The pressure reopened the scabbed over cut down his arms. Pressing in the third of the wet fingers in, he pressed hard, seeking a small nut sized lump. Brushing his fingers over it with slight pressure, he felt Tristan jerk forward as his passage clenched the slim fingers hard. “Good boy.”

Tristan struggled to keep himself upright on his bound hands. Small trails of blood from the reopened lines crawled down his arm, staining and slicking up the ragged shirt tied around his wrists. He felt the blunt head of Bakura’s cock pressing in. He moaned as it filled him, pushing back harder. A low groan whispered in his ear, a hand tightened around his waist, the other hand grasped his hair, pulling his head back. Teeth grazed over his neck. Sinking into his flesh, sharp needle teeth broke through. Blood flowed freely, the thin streams ran down, crossing each other. Tristan relaxed as he grew empty, then full, then empty, full, empty, full, empty, full, empty. Sweat and tears ran down his face as he shook.

Bakura hissed and snapped Tristan’s head back forcefully as white haze invaded his sight. The other responded by stiffening, legs and arms rigid, head back, eyes rolling up before he collapsed taking his oh so cruel, oh so wonderful lover down with him. Bakura panted, harshly. Grabbing the hilt of his knife, he stretched up and placed the tip between the flesh and the cloth on one wrist. A flick of a pale pink wrist and the cloth fell away.

“Don’t move.”

“Will it always be like this?” Tristan shook underneath his Bakura.

“Probably not. Ryou will bitch if it is.”

“Hmmmm... thank you.”

“Go to sleep.” Bakura eyes’ closed as he lay on Tristan’s back.

“Ok... hey ‘kura?”

“What?!”

“How come you have a separate body? Not that I mind. You’re beautiful.”

“Because the ring. I didn’t get my soul trapped into an item like the others. The ring ‘ate’ me. It left some part of me. That’s what Yami buried.”

“Ahhh...” Tristan quieted and his breathing slowed. After a few moments, he twitched. A growl from the young man sleeping on him caused him to smile. “Kura?”

“WHAT?!”

“Tell me another poem.”

Bakura sighed and poked Tristan with his knife before moving to whisper to him.

“ _In the golden light of the hottest day I bathe you in asses milk Your flesh sweetens the taste Your skin glows I can not wait to see you In the light of the full moon._ ”

Tristan smiled, his breathing slowed and he fell asleep.

* * *

Ryou yawned, stretching out over the bed. He turned over to snuggle up to Bakura... except Bakura wasn’t there. _He probably fell asleep in the library again._ Grabbing a blanket, he headed towards the library. Smiling, he pushed the door open silently. Stopping suddenly, he looked at the tableau in front of him. Tables and chairs had been pushed out of the way and over turned. A book of Linear A tomb writings was splayed on the floor and in the middle of all this havoc lay Bakura and Tristan entwined with each other. Bakura had bites and hickeys down his front while Tristan’s chest was criss crossed by long scratches long since filled with blood and puffy. Trying not to laugh, he covered the two of them with the blanket and curled up on the couch.

* * *

1:30 pm Rien, France

A young girl stared through the blue tinted plate glass window. There it was. The brand new Kaiba Corp. VR game, “Legendary Heroes”. And her best friend, André was just getting into the pod. She tapped on the window and waved to him. They couldn’t believe that Kaiba had broken with tradition and actually let the rest of the world have the game at the same time as he released it in Japan. She shook her head, multicolored braids clicking their rainbow beads. She pulled out her purse and checked her money. Frowning, she looked back forlornly and sighed. André smiled and waved at her to come in. Shrugging she shook her head. No way she could afford it and dinner and the metro home. Why the hell did her parents have to die? Why did she have to get sent to her grandmother in France. If she had stayed with her cousins in Domino, she would have been able to get in on the bottom floor, she could have been a beta tester. But no... a damn drunk had to hit her parents. Mr. Kaiba had been so kind at the funeral, even offering to set her up in a private school if she wanted to, but no! Grandmother didn’t like him and now she... one of the greatest gamesmen in the world was stuck in Rien rather than in Domino, working for Kaiba like her parents used to.

With a last sigh, she turned waved for him to go on and took off her oversized sunglasses. Smiling in once more, Kasumi winked one beautiful dark blue eye and walked off. 

7:52 pm A dorm room in upper New York

Téa waved to her friends and pushed open her door. She liked them but she missed her friends in Domino. She flopped onto her bed, and pulled out the thick envelope. The border was striped in red and blue. The address was printed in large block letters but the return address was in graceful kanji and the postmark was from Japan. Smiling she opened it. A pack of bunch of pictures fell out and over the bed. Some even slid to the floor. She picked them up. Several were single or duo shots of the gang but there was one very professional looking picture of all of them, even Kaiba, Mokuba, and Ji-chan. Seto stood a little off to the side, but he was staring at Joey.

Shrugging, she unfolded the letter. 

Dear Téa, 

We all really miss you but so many things have been happening here. I know you’re having fun. I can’t wait until your next letter. Let’s see... well since Yami and I have decided to talk more, we’re even closer. The shop is doing great business, so Ji-chan is thinking of going to China for a conference and leaving us to run the shop. 

I think the only thing that’s really been odd around here lately is that Joey is remembering dreams from a past life. Unfortunately, an enemy from then may attack us. See it all started when Joey... 

_//Kaiba and Joey?! What is going on over there!//_

* * *

9:35 pm Tanaka Maeda Rehabilitation Clinic

Wheeler shuddered and let his head fall back to the scratchy pillow. He could feel Iwata’s short hair rubbing against his chest. He could feel Iwata’s pale thin fingers twisting in his hair. Wheeler stared down at the pale flesh under the dark brown hair. The soft pale flesh glowing at the top of his head. It would be so easy to just drive something through the soft skull. His hand clenched, the muscles in his arms flexing against the thick leather bands.

“You’re making a fist.” Iwata whispered, his eyes still closed.

“Yes, I... wish I could touch you.” Wheeler smiled down at him, willing his eyes to soften.

“As do I. However, those bands have an alarm rigged to them, once I figure out how to disable it without tripping the alarm; I will release you, my angel. I swear it.”

“I know... Tell me, have you heard any news about my son?”

“He’s awake, however because of the repeated attacks. They are going to move into Kaiba Corp. building downtown. Michael, you will be released soon. Now that your addiction to alcohol is fading, we really have no reason to keep you here. His orders are explicit, that we need to keep you safe. You are important to Joey, therefore you are important to him. He thinks of you as a mere attachment to Joey, and you aren’t. You are an angel. My love, I have to leave soon... let me pleasure you once more before I have to go.” Iwata lifted himself up, reaching to caress Wheeler’s chest. 

Michael Wheeler shuddered and grinned slowly as he struggled not to clench the sheets in his fists. _//Damn Freak! You Damn Faggot Freak!//_

* * *

Time Irrelevant The Internet

Noa turned around, the warm liquid of the Net surrounding him. He smiled at the lithe young man ahead of him. Laughing silently, he splashed a small wave towards Nkosi. Unfortunately, Nkosi had the idea to turn around and got a face full of warm data. The Egyptian prince sputtered as he went under before bobbing up, eyes twinkling. 

“You... brat!” Nkosi tackled his friend.

The two splashed and dunked each other for a while, before the waves they created washed them up onto a rocky shore. Noa lay back on the uneven ground, somehow the rocks not bothering him much. He closes him eyes, feeling strangely happy. Nkosi was lying beside him, arm around his waist, their heads barely touching. For a moment, Noa didn’t care if they did anything else, at least not for a little while. 

After what seemed like hours, Nkosi moved. “Where are we trying to reach? What are we going to do?”

“Where... look up. See it?” Noa pointed up, without even opening his eyes. Nkosi’s eyes followed his finger. Up high, on what looked to be a rocky finger projecting over the sea was a house. An eight sided tradition Japanese paper house. The sloping roof was of unglazed brilliantly red fired clay tiles. “Up there is one home of our enemy. That represents Kaiba Corp. A small part of it. For all of Seto’s innovations and improvements, despite moving away from the weapons industry and back to a very Japanese industry. Games, strategy, intruigue. He’s very 21st century but he is also very traditional. This is but a small part of Kaiba Corp. This is where the research into the VR Games is located, _Legendary Heroes_. It takes place in what we called the Mythological Age but this is how we thought japan was back then. With gods and kami all around.” Noa held up the crystal orb. “This is the information on Legendary Heroes that Gatchaman collected. Including the master list of the _codes_. We are going to suffer, and so many will be calling for his blood.”

Nkosi frowned, “But I thought you already had that.”

Noa shook his head. “No, I was happy that Gatchaman had a copy of the _source_ code. That’s the program that tells the VR pod what to do, but I see he also has the master list of codes. Each VR pod is encoded with a 128 numbers/letters combination. They can tell the difference between upper case and lower case. They also include 10 numbers and 30 symbols. All together 92 different things, let’s call them keys, can be in each of the 128 spots. And there is no limit to how many times a key can be repeated. Imagine it Nkosi. Imagine a vault locked with 128 eyes. Each key can be in any of 92 forms. Do you realize how long it would take to open such a lock?”

Nkosi’s eyes widened, “It would take forever!”

“Not with this list, see each VR pod has its own 128 key lock. So this master list has those listed. Now usually such lists are encoded and kept in different locations in unequal parts but it appears that Gatchaman had already decoded and patched it together for us. We must find him or her and thank them. We can now get into each VR pod. A 128 key lock is not as daunting when you have the pattern of the keys right there! “

Nkosi stared into the teen’s eyes and started laughing. “You are so...”

Noa laughed and hugged Nkosi, “Yes, I am.” Placing one hand on Nkosi’s cheek, he turned his friend’s face toward him and kissed him softly. “Perhaps... once we win, we can find a way to... be _happy_.”

“Yes.”

* * *

11:39 PM 

Seto sat in his chair, leaning back. _//Damn Joey!//_

_//Not truly I believe, for you do love him, do you not?//_

_//Yes, I * **think*** I do.//_

_//Think?//_

_//Sometimes I can’t tell if it’s your feelings for Jahi or my feelings for Joey.//_

_//Ahhh, well then, answer me this since you are so big with questions today. Do you understand that our souls are one? That what I am is the memory of the lifetime that * **you*** lived? Do you understand that the millennium scales merely sealed this portion of your soul off?//_

_//Yes, you’ve belabored that point!//_

_//Then perhaps we should journey inside to your other lives. Joey has already seen some of them. In each, your soul found his soul, no matter what form it was in. Male, Female. Across colors and genders you have joined with him. For the sake of our love... Jahi crossed oceans to be with me. He said he sailed for years looking for what he needed, and now with me, he had found it. Joey himself relaxes in your arms, despite the evils his father has done to him. He relaxes in your arms. He loves you, even risked his life not understanding that it would hurt you to spare you hurt. You are so seemingly cold, my other self. So cold that Joey honestly thinks you may care for him but Mokuba is much more important to you than he is. So he strove to protect him, now he thinks you believe him to be a fool to risk himself for someone who doesn’t care for him! And that scene in the garage... ask yourself why you are so angry at him. Then tell him about it.//_

_//You are too arrogant.//_

_//I am you.//_ Seferet faded out quickly, the sound of a lock locking sounded throlugh is skull.

_//Damn ghost!//_

Seto frowned and stared at the desk. When the phone rang, he tapped the speaker. “Kisigawa, is there any way for someone to invade, harm, or take over the mind of a person using our VR pods?”

“Mr. Kaiba? No, I don’t believe so. We tried to prevent it. Especially after what happened with the Big Five. That particular route is blocked by a revolving 512 key strand. That key exists in only two places. Your private vault has one copy, whole and unbroken. The only other copy is broken into uneven parts and kept by nine others and myself. Each of us secured it in a secret place and we don’t tell each other about it. In fact, we called in forty-nine employees at random and gave them each a piece of paper. No records were kept of who was called. Each of them were given slips of paper of odd shapes and neutral colors. I don’t even know who has the other parts.”

“I see... in any case, Kisigawa, I want you to meet with Dr. Hara at headquarters tomorrow. He may think of something from a medical standpoint that we may not.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Goodbye.” Seto cut off the phone and leaned back. _//So ghost, what should I do about Joey?//_

* * *

2:17 PM Inside Legendary Heroes Rien, France

André sat down on the log and leaned back. The sun felt wonderfully warm. Shrugging out of his shirt, he fell into the leaves. _//Damn, I would not mind just being here to relax, never mind to play Duel Monsters!//_

A sudden noise and a beautiful dark haired princess ran up to him. Her hair fell in soft bangs over her rich blue eyes. She jerked back when she saw him, then noticed his hero gear. Running up, she hugged him.

_//She is gorgeous, almost as beautiful as my best friend, Kasumi. You even have her eyes.//_

“Oh brave hero,” Her soft cultured voice whispered softly, “Please, I am the Princess Adina and I need help.”

“Oh course, mon princess. I will be glad to help you, what must I do?”

“We must stop a war but first we need to make it through the labyrinth. Please... I know the way.”

“Then lead on, beautiful one.” André smiled and followed her. _//Mon Dieu, she looks so much like Kasumi, but not as good a handful!//_


	14. Chapter 14

Kijika- NA - Quiet Walker, fisher Namid- NA - Star Dancer, hunter

Joey watched Seto walk off and sighed. Hiroyasu Kubo appeared at his side and held him firmly and gently above the elbow. Another bodyguard came up from behind them.

"Master Joey, let's get you to bed. If I may say so, I've been with Mr. Kaiba since he was brought into the house. And I do not believe that he is so much angry with you as he was... _apprehensive_ about your coma. Master Kaiba did not leave unless ordered by the doctor and even then, he returned as soon as possible." The second guard stepped forward and pushed open the door as Hiroyasu helped Joey through with gentleness. "He has already made alternative arrangements so that you attend your classes despite the distance. Master Kaiba is hard to understand but you will see more of him than I."

Joey gritted his teeth as he hobbled up the stairs, Hiroyasu holding onto his arm. At the top, Hiroyasu held him upright for a second before swinging Joey into his arms. Joey stared, shocked, he didn't think the guards could do this kind of stuff. As they approached Joey's room, he relaxed. "Tell me something... were you always a guard or were you a shrink in a previous life?"

Hiroyasu chuckled, "The Kaibas value loyalty and family. They knew that if they helped us attain our dreams, then we would never forget them. They made sure we all could attain our dreams. Every male and female of my family has had opportunities that were unusual for the times and even our culture. Women, often exploited or ignored, were cultivated for in their young age who does a child listen more to? A distant father or a loving mother? Who teaches them their first lessons in right and wrong? No, the Kaibas saw no reason to ignore half of a family, so even the women were allowed the chance to learn and never did they starve us for knowledge."

Hiroyasu moved aside to allow his partner to open the room door, "When it was determined that I would be a bodyguard, I requested and got schooling in psychology and sociology, with emphasis on child and teenage behavior. I was assigned to watch Master Kaiba when he was but six years old. I was never denied any tool that I needed to watch him. He was my only concern. Even young Master Mokuba meant nothing to me except in how he affected Master Kaiba, which he did greatly. From the time I graduated until three days ago, I watched Master Kaiba."

Joey stared at the guard as he was set down on the bed, gently. Hiroyasu reached for the shirt, and carefully took it off him. "When did you graduate?"

"I finally got my master's seven years ago. Now it is time for you to rest, Master Joey. We'll be around thought you may not see us. If we do our job right, you won't see us. Ignore us, in fact." Hiroyasu folded the shirt, as his partner took off Joey's shoes and socks. Together they slipped off the drawstring pants from the hospital. While one pulled down the sheet, the other lay Joey back into be. They nodded as they headed for the doorway. 

Joey carefully lay back, as the two were leaving, he spoke up. "Wait, you were Seto's until three days ago? But..."

"He reassigned me, of course. Now you are my charge, my only charge. Good night, Master Joey."

As the door closed, Joey curled up in the bed. Salty tears leaking from his eyes. In the dark he whispered, "Sorry, Seto."

* * *

Seto Kaiba gazed at his little brother. His long, black hair fell sweetly over one slightly tanned shoulder. His thin lids, slightly lighter than the rest of his skin, shuttered his navy eyes. One hand lay curled on top of the covers by his mouth. Sighing, Seto lifted the hand and put it under the comforter. Making sure the blanket was tucked around the smaller boy, he stood up, and walked out of the room. Crossing the hall, he sat on his bed, kicking off his leather shoes as he lay back on the firm mattress.

_//Damn Mutt! He still doesn't understand what he did wrong. That's typical of that group. Act first and think last. He's impossible! He acts like he can just get up and go on with everything. That... vexatious brat! As if I am such a horrid brother that I wouldn't teach Mokuba how to protect himself. Does he honestly think that he helped? Mokuba could have saved himself and Joey, but that fool had to just jump in and make things worse. He's... He and that idiotic group are as bad as that 'Harry Potter and his friends' in those books Mokie likes to read!//_ Seto closed his eyes, thinking of that stone room he was in, the last time he ventured into the depths of his mind. Suddenly, he found himself within his vision.

Sef sat cross-legged on a thin mat, holding a golden instrument in his lap. "Hello," he greeted, in a soft voice. "It's made of pure gold, with strings of silver for the perfect tone." The spirit didn't look up as he stroked three picks over the strings. "Ruby, Emerald, and Ivory, for perfect balance. So, are you still trying to blame Joey for being Joey?"

_//Damned parasitic, sarcastic, ghost!//_ "Haven't you decided to hide somewhere else?"

"This is our mind, dear light. And this world..." Sef gestured with a flashing, flick of his wrist, "Is my land. Besides, you can't stop thinking of Joey. It rings through your mind, echoing until my head hurts," the spirit declared. His voice was a bit irritable, and his eyes weary, as he gazed at his lighter half. "You say that you love Joey, but isn't one of the things you love about him his loyalty? His manner of knowing, that even though he may lose, he will not give up? Combine those two, and you can see why he had to protect Mokuba, even if it risked his life. Not because he was careless with himself, but because he is careful with you. He knows... Deep within him, there is no doubt, that you love him. He knows, that you have lived your life for the past eight years for Mokuba, and Mokuba alone. He isn't even sure that if Mokuba died, you would follow him. So why are you determined to find a reason to be angry with Joey for being Joey?

Seto stared at the spirit, his lips pressed together tightly, causing the skin around them to turn white in his anger. He watched as Sef stood, the instrument he had in his lap clanging sweetly as it hit the stone floor.

"Enough with wasting time. Tonight we go into your essence. You will learn to use the Scales."

The CEO's hands clenched, nails digging into the sweet flesh of his palms, as Sef stepped close. Seto subconsciously stepped back, giving up a little of his ground. Realizing that he was being a coward, he then stood firm, awaiting the actions of his darker half.

Sef held out his hand, a large white feather appearing in his palm. Placing it in the right dish, he raised the scale before Seto, "Clear your mind of all present thought processes. Once you accomplished that, I want you to think of Joey. He may want to stay with you, but you keep pushing him away. Think of what would happen if you lose him." Sef watched as Seto's eyes went from the color of shale, to that of soft, deep water. He then stepped closer, his index finger caressing his light's cheek, scraping against the tender skin to catch an errant drop of liquid. "You never cry my dear light, do you?" The priest inquired softly. "You should, it's cleansing. All those tears contained for so long, with no outlet."

Seto stared at the Egyptian, before stepping back. "Do what you're going to do and get it over with."

Sef flicked the droplet into the dish of the left hand side. "Watch." A mist formed, Seto turned and part of it rolled away. Seto could see a beautiful scene. Long waves of green grass waved under a darkening sky... 

* * *

A Town on the east side of Britain Owned by one Lord Esau D'Kortney On St. Paschal Babylon's Day In the one thousand one hundred and fifty-eighth year after our Lord's birth.

Seth D'Kortney, age 12, clutched at the reins, leaning back. The horse ignored him and still thundered across the meadow. Seth tried desperately to slow the rampaging horse. _//Dammit. Father is going to kill this one, he gets spooked so damnably easy! And I should have known better than to try to train him in the western field. Too much room to run and a sudden stop when he goes off the cliff!//_

A flash of red and gold whizzed by... Seth stared as his steed jerked to a stop, a tanned hand reached out and yanked on the right rein, trying to get the horse to bear right, away from the cliff. Seth looked up to see a young boy about his age. He was dressed in red shirt with a black and gold vest. His wheaten hair was loose in front but pulled back in a tail, bright brown eyes stared out of a tanned face. Nodding to the boy, Seth pulled his kerchief from his pocket, folded it over several times, and placed it over the horses' eyes. Slowly, the horse settled, its flanks flecked with foam, and its barrel heaving with the harsh pants. When the horse finally stood still, Seth slid from the saddle and wrapped the reins about his hand tightly. He waited for the other boy to dismount. Smiling, he held out his hand. The smiling gypsy boy stood and smiled, his clothes a riot of color and daring. The young gypsy took his hand and bowed over it, placing a kiss in the palm. Seth's smile grew wider as a warmth started in his chest.

"Ahhh... I thank you for the help. I am Seth D'Kortney. And you, oh fair gypsy?"

"You know what I am, I am glad. I am Kistur, of the clan Vardalos. I am very pleased to meet you."

"This time... you know I owe you my life, according to your culture that means there is a bond between us." Seth replied, not taking his hand from Kistur's.

Kistur tilted his head, "True, or maybe its payment for a previous life."

"Ahhh but since we don't know, the least I can do is share my meal with you. Unfortunately, it's about five miles back the way we came. Come, 'Skillful Rider', for truly you are. Let me feed you before you must return." Seth tugged on the reins, guiding his exhausted horse into a walk.

"You know us well, lordling. Come, up on my horse, yours can follow." Kistur climbed up into his saddle, holding out his hands for the reins. Without a second thought, Seth clambered up behind him. Kistur fastened the reins to his saddle and waited for Seth to put his arms around him. Clucking softly, Kistur's horse set out. Seth placed his head on Kistur's shoulder and let the warmth and the steady hoofbeats lead him off to sleep.

* * *

One night in a rainforest Year of the Snake, Cycle of the Eagle

Kijika watched as Namid left the village fire. Every day Namid went off, for what, Kijika decided he needed to know. Taking a cue from his name, Quiet Walker, Kijika followed silently behind his rival. Namid ran lightly through the surrounding jungle, feet gripping the soil as he paced himself, and he watched as Kijika brushed his long brown hair back from his face, wrapping a thong about it again. He could not lose Namid again. He knew that the other was the better hunter in the jungle but he was the better fisher. And while he never came home empty handed, Namid could… and did. But this wasn't the time to hunt so why would the young man leave the safety of the village?

The quiet footfall stopped, Kijika paused moving slowly closer to the edge of the jungle. As his eyes focused on the clearing ahead, he watched amazed. It seemed he was not the only one who lived up to his name. Namid, the one of the honey eyes, danced under the stars. Long limbs celebrated life, graceful feet sang of joy, rolling shoulders heralded strength. He danced about the clearing, each time coming closer to the cliff before darting away, daring the cliff to claim him. Kijika stood, of all the beauty he had seen in his life, none had touched him as this one. Parting the leaves that hid him, he started forward. A flash of light caught his eye and he noticed a rock on the ground. Namid did not and Kijika cried out as Namid's foot came down on the rock. The golden eyed one cried out and jerked back towards the cliff. Kijika ran forward, as the cliff crumbled, he dived to the ground, one hand catching at one of the gold bracelets that surrounded his beautiful one's wrist. 

"Kijika… where?" Namid looked up into his rival's eyes with fear and trust.

"Does it matter? Now, try to wrap your hand about my wrist."

Namid nodded. His feet scrabbled at the rock face as he tried to get a foothold on the cliff. Sweat poured off them as they struggled to drag the dancer back up. Amber eyes stared into the dark ones of his rescuer. Never losing eye contact, they finally got Namid back into the clearing. Exhausted Namid lay on the grass. A chuckle beside him made him roll over. His muscles protested but he managed to do it. Kijika lay on the grass, his silken ravenswing hair glistening under the starlight.

"What has gotten into you?"

"Nothing... nothing... I... I... I followed you, to know what you were up to. And the gods have taught me a lesson. A wonderful lesson, Namida. You who were named a dancer of the stars, when you danced tonight. The gods answered my unknown prayer. I am lonely, Namida. Very lonely. Come... share my hut, share my catch, share everything you wish. Give me the pleasure of helping you clean what you hunt, you can help me clean what I hook. I am no fool to deny what the gods obviously are telling me. Please?"

"Kijika... so arrogant Kijika, do you think just because you want me to that I shall? If I had known all it took was dance, I would have danced for you four years ago. And now... now, you ask?!"

"Are you promised?" Kijika's eyes stared at him, eyes as dark as the sky above.

"Close... though maybe by now."

"Break it. Even if we have to leave the village, break it. I'll be yours, and never ask you for anything again... in payment for your life, I ask you break it."

"Hush." Namida wiggled closer, lips brushing against his former rival's. "You still own my life, and of course I'll break it."

Namida chuckled as he moved to hold him soon to be lover in his arms. "Rest. Tomorrow, we'll tell the elders."

A brown head nodded sleepily, lips pressed against the tanned flesh of the fisher, a murmur of agreement, then the deep breathing of sleep.

Namida stroked the long hair from his beloved's face and cuddled him closer. "Forever."

* * *

Seto reached up, dragging his hand across his face, moisture sticking to his hand. Frowning, he turned the palm up and stared at his wet skin.

_//Tears. Does it not feel good to cry? To release what you hold back so much. This is one power of the scales. After all, the scales symbolize balance. Does not Ma'at use the same scales to weight our heart versus a white feather? It takes in account all the evil and good we have done in *all* our lives. These scales can take you into your past lives, it can show you what could have been, or may yet be? It can show you how an action may weigh you down. The scales have just showed you the past, and how you and Joey have come together time and time again. Each time you did, you were both happy. Therefore, why does it matter it you feel you are being pushed? It seems that you and Joey are one of the truly destined matters in this world. Accept it. Accept Joey with all his faults, and love him because of them, not in spite of them. Go, speak to him.//_

"I don't like being enslaved, to not have my own choice!"

_//But you have. You've made this choice, time and time and time again! When you've chosen him, you've had a happy life. You only suffered pain when you tried to run from him. I... I... you understand enlightened self interest, yes?//_

"Of course!" Seto snorted at the idea.

_//Then understand, I don't want you to suffer because I would and I'm tired, so sun scorched tired of pain and suffering! I had to watch Jahi be MURDERED by my own brother, the boy I loved almost more than my sister! And you tell me to let you suffer?! I will not, I will not go through this again! I will not suffer it, not this time. GO TO HIM. Go and love him for all the time you have. I swear by our immortal soul, I will not let Nkosi or Noa kill him again. Please... go to him.//_

Seto stood up shakily, one hand grabbing the wall beside the bed. "If I do..."

_//You will be the one thing that has eluded you for so long, Seto.//_

Growling Seto stumbled from the room, legs stiff from sitting in that position for so long. The tingling pin and needles sensations shot up his legs as he moved out of the room. His bare feet sank noiselessly through the deep pile carpet as he weaved out into the hall. Ahead of him, Yuki Kubo sat by the door, eyes scanning the area around the hallway. As Seto walked closer, the eyes noticed him but didn't stay solely on him. As he laid one hand on the doorknob, Yuki's hand clamped onto his wrist.

"He's asleep, finally, Master Kaiba."

"Is he? Then I'll wait for him to awaken." Seto stared at his former guard with eyes hard and unflinching.

"No, sir... Sir, you've always known that we are trained to be the best we can be and I have to say that how you treated Master Joey is shameful. He's honest, not too bright, but honest. It will be an honor to serve him."

"Protect him, no matter what it takes. It's what I expect of you. I also expect you to allow me into the room."

"Well sir, that will be up to Hiroyasu." Yuki opened the door and waited as a shadow moved closer. "Brother, Master Kaiba is here... shall I let him in?"

Hiroyasu nodded, "This time, yes. However," he caught Kaiba's eyes over his younger brother's shoulder. "Master Kaiba, the state in which master Joey returned to this room was unacceptable. I trust you will you will make a definitive choice soon?"

Seto Kaiba glared at the bodyguard's challenging stare. Eyes hard and full or fury. "I trust you to know your place." He pushed past Yuki and entered the room.

"I do, Master Kaiba, after all you assigned me to it. That place is between Master Joey and _any_ who wish to harm him. Any."

Seto nodded curtly and walked past the guard. He looked over at the bed. Joey lay in it, hair cut short, skin pale and dry, his eyes looked puffy. Frowning slightly, he walked over and slid onto the bed. His fingers played over the other boy's features. Trailing over the rough cheek and up towards a bare spot over the temple. There was no hair there, only an ugly lurid red line with large hairy spiders sitting on it. He frowned, _//That... that had almost cost me Joey, again!//_

Shrugging off his shirt, he moved the sheet and lay down. Joey was so warm. Slipping one arm under the blonde, Seto rolled Joey over until he was pressed up against him. Brushing his lips over the stitches he wrapped the other arm around his beloved. Lips caressed the rough skin as they traveled to Joey's ear. The blonde murmured and pressed closer to Seto. Pale arms clenched him closer.

"I- I'm sorry." Seto whispered, tucking Joey's head to his chest. Closing his eyes, he stroked his destiny's back as he slowly succumbed to sleep.

* * *

"So what is this place?"

"It's my home, Joey. No... not where I was born but rather where I finally settled down. Seferet and I used to live here. I was so... luxurious. Oh nothing to compare to what you have now but... for the time. Cool baths every night if we so chose. Succulent fruits... oh the variety and all of them full of juice. Many time Sef and I used each other as trenchers. How not when the fruit made his flesh all the sweeter. The night we have sent in this set of room. This bed. Ahhhh, days gone by and days yet to be fulfilled. So tell me, how goes the battle?" Jahi guided his other self through the room and pulled back a gauzy veil. He gestured to the bed.

Joey flopped back onto the bed, watching Jahi sit beside him, "I guess it goes. Seto didn't want to talk to me. And then he had to go pick a fight!"

"A fight? About what? What by Ammnit and the unending darkness is his problem?"

"I saved Mokuba."

"Mokuba... oh Adna's other self! But He loves him, right?"

"Yeah, but he started yelling about why the hell didn't I hide, I didn't have to take care of Mokuba, I was just stupid to do what I did. He starts screaming at me and saying that I need to remember that I'm not immortal. DUH!" Joey threw one arm over his eyes

"I see... well, actually that's good!"

"GOOD?! How can you say that?" Joey leaned up on one arm and stared at him.

"He's overreacting, yelling, and being a pain. All because he loves you. And since you know he loves you, it would make sense that next time instead of banging your head on stone, try to drag the child deeper in the building for if a 'bullet' is anything like an arrow then the more things that stand between you and it, the better. For each thing will slow it down more and more. And as I have seen many many times, it is better in truth that you do not die. Or do you wish to wait so many years without him once more?" Jahi tugged gently on the arm, forcing Joey to lie back. Lying beside him, he hugged him gently and whispered softly, "To be alone, again? Truly... and do not lie to yourself any more."

Joey moved closer, arm wrapping around Jahi's waist. "No... I... I... he fits me. I think I love him."

"You do, I can see it." Jahi pulled him closer still and buried one hand in the hair. "Shaggy pup. Even here you need a hair cut."

"HEY! No dog jokes!" Joey leaned forward and nipped at his collarbone.

"Feisty pup." Soft lips pressed against the soft hair, a hand stroked the slim back. "Trust me, Joey. Tomorrow, apologize to him that you risked your life by reacting rather than thinking and everything will be alright. Ok?"

"Yeah... ok." Joey closed his eyes as soft lips brushed against his forehead.

* * *

Outside the Kaiba Corp. Mainframe.

Nkosi lay back into the warm green cover as Noa walked about the tower. Smiling, he watched his... other self frown. It was strange but for the first time, Nkosi felt... protective. And somehow protected. A memory tickled the back of his mind of his time in Egypt, when he was a prince and his older brother Seferet would spend a couple of hours before bed teaching him the old stories. Grumbling, he shook his head and pushed the memory away from him. It was a long time ago and before Seferet had betrayed him, driven him from the temple, and inflamed their father and siblings against him. The dark mood continued to linger on him. Standing up, he crossed over to where Noa stood and wrapped his arms about him.

"Yes, Nkosi?" Noa sighed.

"How are we to get in?" Nkosi nuzzled the soft skin behind Noa's ear.

Noa moaned sweetly and tilted his head back. "There's a door, it's just hidden... watch."

Noa stepped forward and held his arms about bodywidth apart. A scroll flashed into appearance. Pulling it open he placed it against the stone. Gently it sank into the stonework. Suddenly, lines of red started and streaking around and around whirling dervishly, suddenly then stopped, first a line at the bottom, then the one immediately on top of that. They stacked up until they formed an arched doorway. Noa smiled and pushed open the door, stepping aside he bowed to Nkosi. "Enter, and let us enjoy ourselves."

"Yes..."

* * *

Milo strapped in and nodded at his friend, Dan. Grinning back at each other, they lowered the lids and leaned back. Milo opened his eyes and stared. The buildings were all in red stone. Turning about, he almost collided with his friend. "This is..."

"SO COOL!!!" Dan laughed, reaching out to stroke the building. Pushing back his dark brown hair, he watched the people flow past. He looked down at himself and spun around. He was dressed in rich clothes of red and blue, a plumed hat perched on his head. He stared at his friend, dressed as he was but in colors of blue and silver. "Feels so real. Come on, let's get started. I heard the princess of this game is a real babe."

A young girl came running out of an alley, black hair falling into rich blue eyes. She collided with Milo and stared up at him. "Please, sirs! Help me?"

Dan smiled, "Yeah, sure that's what we are here for, right? Sir Milo?"

"Right, Sir Danforth. Now just calm down little lady and we'll work it out, okay?"

"Thank you, sir. My name Adina, and you look so much like my father."

Milo laughed and tied his hair back, sweeping his plumed hat off his head and fastening on her with indigo eyes. "We're at your service, lady Adina."

* * *

11:39 PM NTN Studios

Naota Kanzi scrolled through the e-mails in his inbox. One alone had a red exclaimation point next to it. Curious, he stared at the address: [NK051@aol.co.jp](mailto:NK051@aol.co.jp). Shrugging, he clicked it. The mail opened up and as he read, a frown appeared on his face. As he read further down his frown changed, a smile grew in its place.

"Well, well, Kaiba you are going down and this time... nothing will stop it. Now let me just make a quick little phone call to... St. Gilles."

Kanzi picked up the phone and dialed. As he did so, he reached over and hit the print button. Picking up a pen, he checked off the first name. 

1\. _André Broussard, 16, hospitalized at Sté. Reoun in St. Gilles, France._

2\. _Gunter Shank, 21, hospitalized at Comme Hospital in Nordhausen, Germany_

3\. _Dan Anderton, 19, hospitalized at St. Francis in Westhaven, British Columbia, Cnada._

4\. _Milo Lawton, 18, hospitalized at St. Francis in Westhaven, British Columbia, Cnada_

5\. _Leo Hernandez, 17, hospitalized at San Angelo Hospital in Puerta del Sol, Puerto Rico_

* * *

Tuesday the 28th

Warm.

So warm.

Joey wiggled, trying to get closer to the warmth. He felt soft lips brush over his face, hands stroking down his back.

"I know you're awake, pup." Seto whispered softly in his ear.

"Awww, let me sleep." Joey groaned and hugged him tighter.

"Fine. First, I have to... apologize to you." Seto bit out. "I shouldn't have yelled at you for saving Mokuba. I... if I lost him..."

"I know, you love him like I love Serenity. And ya know, if it had been you getting hurt saving Serenity, I'd yell at you too. I guess it's normal."

"Normal to scream at each other?"

"The day we don't fight, that's when I'll worry but nope, I mean normal to worry about someone when you love em. Got it?" Joey stared at Seto, brown eyes meeting blue with determination. 

"Yes. I guess it is normal. The first normal thing in my life for a long time. Now, we should get up. We move to the Kaiba Corp. building today. It'll be harder to get to us there."

"Yeah, right! You just gotta do work! Now are ya gonna get out so I can dress?" Joey sat up.

"Can't I watch?" Seto smirked as he watched Joey move.


	15. Chapter 15

Nkosi watched his other self as he manipulated this so called 'interweb'. Such a beautiful child, like him and yet not, this other one had a fragile beauty hidden under so hard a shell... like a lotus under glass. Smiling, he stood and walked over to Noa, hands outstretched. "Are you ready, my other self?"

"Almost, Nkosi. The reporter is already investigating the new wave of comas. And in a few minutes, I am going to build our world so that we may... invite our _family_." Noa turned around, one hand brushing against Nkosi's tanned skin. A light flashed off to the right. "Another candidate."

Nkosi leaned forward brushing his lips against Noa's. "You have to finish this. I will go."

"Very well... call for me and I'll bring you back."

Nkosi tilted his head back as sparkling pixels swirled around him. A rosy glow shone and there stood 'Adena'. "How sweet our dear... _brother_ is."

"Call me, when you are done, and I'll come for you."

Nkosi nodded and passed his hand through the red light. Falling back, he called out, "As always."

* * *

Tuesday the 27th

5:47 a.m.

Ryou squirmed closer into the warmth. It was times like this he was really happy with his Yami. The mornings when Bakura would just hold him and let him feel his warmth. Warm breath on his neck, slim agile fingers stroking his stomach. He could turn around and Bakura would pull him close. He loved those rare moments. Turning over, he pressed his face into the cool warmth, fingers playing with the wiry hair... jerking back, he opened his eyes to see caramel eyes looking at him.

"Hey."

"Tristan... where's Bakura?" Ryou moved back, feeling warmth at his back. Arms tightened around his waist.

"Bakura is where Bakura should be. You don't think I'd allow him into our bed unless I was here do you?"

Ryou rolled his eyes, and murmured submissively, "Of course not, Bakare. Although I wasn't sure if you'd had killed each other and this but a dream."

"Hmmmph, as if he could kill me. Besides unlike with you, he fought a bit before he accepted his place." Bakura raised one hand to trace the newly forming scars of the cuts he made on Tristan last night. "He did however earn his place."

Tristan wormed under the fingers tracing the reminders and gasped as one pressed a little too hard. He could feel the blood popping to the surface. "Yes, Bakare. Ryou, I'm gonna go home and pack some stuff for the week." He flashed an arched eyebrow at the bat-winged ruler of the household, "If our prince Bakare doesn't mind."

Ryou laughed, burying his face in the pillow. Moving closer to the brunette, he cast a look back at his yami before kissing his new lover. "Ok, I need to take a shower before school. Come home with me tonight?"

"If Bakura doesn't mind."

"Hmm, you'd better. At least until Noa is captured, don't forget to take a couple of the bodyguards." Bakura rolled off the bed and stood up, stretching, making sure both of the boys in the bed got a good glimpse of his naked body. A quick slap to his backside startled Ryou. "Ryou, go shower. Tristan, get dressed and get going. Don't forget to take two of the guards. We'll see you tonight."

Ryou nodded and kissed Tristan quickly before getting out of bed. He walked over to Bakura, his long shirt swishing against his legs and faced his yami. Leaning in, he kissed him softly. "Thank you."

"Hmph. Hurry up. Sooner I get you to school, sooner I can go check out the new Kaiba Corp VR game." Bakura watched his lover walk into the bathroom.

Tristan fell back against the bed, one leg already in his pants, the other tangled in the cloth. Untangling himself, he finally got his pants on and started buttoning his shirt. "You mean he finished it? Legendary Heroes? I can't believe it. After being trapped in that game, he still finished it. Tell me what it's like, k?"

"Trapped in the game?" Bakura raised one silver eyebrow. Walking over to the door, he opened it. "Never mind, explain to me later. Get."

Tristan slid over on socked feet and leaned against the doorframe, "Don't I even get a kiss?"

Bakura leaned forward and wrapped one hand around Tristan's upper arm. He smiled and whispered, "No."

Tristan fought as Bakura used his grip to push him out the room. Frowning, he wondered if he had misjudged the knife-wielding psycho and then it hit him. Turning around, he got on his knees and looked up at Bakura, "May I please have a kiss?"

"You do learn well, don't you? Tonight, after we put Ryou to bed, I'll meet you in the library. Don't wear a shirt." Bakura ran a finger over the soft lips and pulled Tristan to stand in front of him. He dragged a nail across a forming scab, tearing it. Pressing his nail against the seeping blood, he smiled as Tristan winced. A quick kiss was pressed to twisted lips and then the naked tomb robber slammed the door shut.

Tristan laughed and ran down the stairs. At the foot, a guard stood, holding a bowl of soup and an egg sandwich.

"If we hurry, we should be able to get to your house and school in time, young master Taylor." The guard bowed and opened the door.

* * *

6:00 a.m.

Kaiba Mansion

Seto nodded to the two guards sitting right outside Joey's door and headed down the hall. Joey followed slowly. Hiroyasu jumped up and shook his head at his boss' attitude. "Master Joey, careful, you just got up yesterday. I'll take you down to breakfast. Young Master Mokuba already went down to eat. The move has been going well and your rooms at Kaiba Corp. headquarters should be ready in less than an hour. You're physical therapist will meet you there. Your assignments have been collected everyday while you were absent and your history assignment has been extended for you. As Mr. Yiyashi, has also agreed to skip the next three bi-weekly meetings for you and for Master Kaiba while he's out of school." Hiro wrapped one arm around the back of Joey's shoulders, supporting him carefully. 

"Ummm wow, thanks. Hey, what do I call ya anyways?" Joey turned, looking at Yuki, behind him.

"Well, our family name is Kubo; he is Hiroyasu, I am Yuki. We have four other siblings. They are part of your detail. Kimiko, Yuusuke, Tomoyo, and Tenchi. Though for now, to not overwhelm you, Yuki and I will be your main guards. The others will be around securing you and watching you while you sleep. We've decided to get three of our guards to stay with your father once he's out of the... hospital. Master Kaiba believes he will fall back into his previous abusive patterns." Yuki said, kneeling and checking under the bed. Pulling a dark blue book bag from under the bed, he straightened up. "Ahhh, here we go. I knew I should have put this stuff up rather than Tomoyo. Anyway, you are now stuck with us. And now it is time for breakfast." Yuki walked over and opened the door, "Ready?"

Joey smiled and let them help him down the steps. Hiroyasu guided him through the hall and into the dining room. Mokuba sat in a chair, dressed in a t-shirt and jeans, legs swinging, "Hey Joey, Hiro, Yuki. How is he?"

"He'll be fine, Moku-chan." Hiro lowered Joey into the seat that Yuki was holding back. Turning to Joey, he pointed at the servant bringing in a plate of food. "If he eats properly, does his physical therapy, and rests."

Joey laughed and waited for the plate to be put down before him. He looked at the plate. Everything was cut up into small bite-sized pieces. "Hey."

Hiro pulled another chair next to Joey and held out a wooden fork and spoon. "You were in a coma, it is not uncommon for your body to be out of sync for a while. Better safe than sorry, if you can eat well enough with these, for lunch I'll give you metal utensils. Just eat, Master Joey."

Yuki stepped closer to his brother and whispered something in his ear.

"Yeah, tell them to give him a private room for his game. Or bring him to Kaiba Corp. and we'll give him a pod here." Hiro laughed and hung up. "Your friend Yami Bakura can't wait to try the new VR pods. Sano Hitomi, one of their guards, is giving him a private preview. I doubt that we want a twin of someone who is supposed to be in school to be lurking at the arcade."

* * *

6:20 a.m.

Tristan unlocked the door and stepped back as one of the guards stepped in. He checked the room and tapped the door. Tristan shook off the other guard's hands and walked in. Hearing his sister in the kitchen, he called out to her. "Hey Sis, Mom home?"

Tristan's sister, Ariko, poked her head out and did a double take. "Ahhh, yeah, Tris, who are these guys?"

The first one stepped forward, "I am Kazuske Ishii, and my companion is Kiyoshi Kida. We are guards assigned to your brother. He is helping Master Kaiba with a job and therefore must spend sometime at the company, though it should not interfere with his schooling. However, after the attack on Master Kaiba and the Younger Kaiba, he has decided to assign guards to those helping him in this job."

Ariko laughed. "Yeah, right! My brother hates Kaiba. Really hates him and you expect me to believe he's working for him? Who are you?!"

"Exactly who he says he is. Hello 'Zu." A new voice came from the other side of the room. "So you're a guard with KC now?"

"Yes, Cousin 'Mi." Kazuske replied. 

"Cousin?" Tristan looked at his sister and they both looked at their mother.

"We are distant cousins who both worked for Kaiba Corp. Old man Kaiba found out our relationship and tried his best to get us to work together or even just be friends. After all, we were family, if distant. We found we liked each other and became good friends. I've known Zu since he was about three years old. After the take over, I was angry. Zu's father tried to calm me. We yelled, and I said some awful things about old man Kaiba. He stopped talking to me. So how is your family? Does he know you're guarding my son?" Miaka smiled and walked over, hugging the guard. "Now, tell me why you're guarding him."

"I did, Mi. He's helping Kaiba with his new VR game. Your son has inherited _all_ your skills with computers and code. In fact, he's become well known in certain circles."

"Really... Tristan, care to explain."

"No... not really?" Tristan replied, trying to escape.

Kazuske grabbed his arm. "Gatcha! Remember we can't guard you unless we are with you. Let's get you packed up."

"Gat... packed up? Why?" Miaka jumped in front of them. "Tristan?"

"Really, mom, its because of the attacks. They're putting me in with Ryou, you remember me mentioning him. We're working on the huge history project together. We got England 1000 to 1400 A.D." Tristan smiled at her and tried to walk past, Kazuske following him.

Kiyoshi stepped up. "Mrs. Taylor. Believe me, his safety means everything to us. That is why we decided to move him in with Ryou Bakura. That gives us eight guards on th- two subjects. I promise you, on our honor, on our names, we will take care of your son."

Tristan shook his head and led Kazuske into his room; he grabbed a duffel bag from his closet and started to pack. Taking neatly folded uniforms from his dresser, he ignored his guard. Kazuske walked around the room, stopping before a door. "This door was sealed once, you unsealed it? What do you use it for?"

"Yeah. If you can't guess, no, Mom didn't know it was there. And it's not a room, it's a stairway. It was rickety but I fixed it. My computer and everything is up there. I need to check it, make sure the program I left isn't still running. Then I'll copy everything and give it to Kaiba. Happy?" Tristan threw a pair of shoes on top of everything.

"Tristan, despite what you think, I don't disapprove of what you did. I disapprove of why and how. Especially if there was a chance that any information got out. We are still looking for information on project Golem. Think for a minute, that if what you said is true... then could not the Golem access even your computer? Could it not steal from you as it did from Kaiba? You have placed them in danger and that is unacceptable. I'll pack your bag, you go retrieve the information."

"Yeah." Tristan spun around and headed up the stairs. Entering the small alcove, he spun a chair around and sat down. Striking 'F7-/-/->-JNH', he brought up his screen. Frowning, he explored his drive. One file seemed to be slightly out of synch with the other. Biting his lip, he drummed the table with his fingers. Nodding, he grabbed a pack of new high density CDs and started copying everything on his drive. Slipping a second CD into a second burner, he started copying everything on Project Golem. Ten minutes later, he switch both CDs out and inserted two more to keep copying. As he started to label them, he noticed a faint whirring sound. Frowning, he got up and knelt next to the computer. Moving slowly, he tracked down the sound. A modem, but not one he used. It was never used since he used his mother's design. He built one, she gave him the other, and so he never needed the factory standard model.

Looking down at the disc he held, one word popped out at him, **_GOLEM_**. Grabbing the Ethernet card, he ripped it out of the plug and play slot. "NOA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Feet thundered up the stairs as Kazuske and Kiyoshi burst into the room, guns drawn. Miaka and Ariko followed behind them. Kazuske lowered his gun as he stared at the fuming Tristan. "What is wrong?"

"Someone was accessing my computer through an Ethernet modem I don't use. It's not even supposed to be activated."

Miaka stared at her son, "You mean the one that came standard, but you do use it don't you?"

"No. I built a modem off your specs, remember? It's untraceable unlike commercial ones, then my thirteenth birthday you gave me another one. With two of them, I didn't need the Ethernet. I… I needed them mom. I… Gatchaman needed them. Now, because of me, Noa… Golem may have all he needs to destroy Kaiba and Kaiba Corp. Mom, Ariko… I'm sorry." Tristan hung his head and sighed. "I don't even know what he has."

"Then we assume he has everything, Tristan. We'll work from there. Is the copy of your files almost complete?" Kiyoshi shrugged and 

"Yeah. Almost. And I made a complete copy of all the Golem files. Mom, I made this mess, I gotta fix it. Call me in sick today?" Tristan asked as he started to disassemble his system, "We're gonna take in the whole system. Maybe he left traces."

"Yes, I will but Tristan… why?"

"He hurt you, Mom. He hurt Joey. You never did anything wrong and he fired you. He fired Joey's dad and now Joey lives in a hellhole. If he hadn't wanted to flex his power and show that he was in charge, none of this would have happened. That's why." Tristan kept his eyes down, afraid to look his mother in the eye.

She reached out, catching his chin and turned him to face her. "When you get home, we need to talk but right now, you fix what you messed up. I never taught any of my children to let others clean up behind them. Kazuske, take good care of him." Taking Ariko's arm, she led her daughter downstairs.

Kazuske stared after her before taking a deep bow, "Let's get this all to Master Kaiba."

* * *

6:45 a.m.

Bakura smiled as he moved closer to his other self. One hand slid down the navy jacket, nails scraping along the way. "Hmmm, remember, no kissy face with Tristan at school today. I have plans for both of you tonight. Got it?'

Ryou blushed, his ears turning a red to rival a strawberry. Bakura laughed and leaned in to lick his cheek. "Pretty." Turning to the quartet of guards standing nearby, he smirked. "Isn't he pretty...?"

They looked at each other and one stepped forward, pushing his honey brown streaked hair back from his ear, he nodded. Eyes flickered up and down Ryou appraisingly. "Hitomi, Sano Hitomi. If you go in for the pale ones. Though, I have to admit that I'd like to see what he looks like with a tan."

Bakura's eyes snapped to him and walked over to the guard, raising one hand, he rested it on the Hitomi's neck. "Then you would have loved me in Egypt. My skin all burnished gold, my hair even more pale than it is now. Eyes lined in kohl with lapis on my hands in feet. You would have loved to see me dance, wouldn't you?" 

Hitomi swallowed noisily and stepped back. "Ahhh, I'm sure you were very beautiful but I think..."

"That you will not be guarding Ryou today, I agree. A slut like you won't get anywhere near my Ryou." Bakura twisted his wrist and a knife appeared in his hand. "So the rest of you can go, make sure Ryou gets to school on time. Meanwhile, I'm going to go down to the arcade, see if I can't get in a couple of rounds of Kaiba's new game."

Hitomi looked at the knife, nervously. "Neat trick, it will make protecting you easier if I know that you can defend yourself. In any case, have you thought about the trouble that two people whom look exactly alike being in two different places is going to cause? I understand that you have no need for school but most people, including the police, wouldn't know that. However, if we go to one of Mr. Kaiba's arcades, we can arrange for a private room. Let me check with Hiro, we may even be able to give you a pod at Kaiba Corp."

Ryou shook his head and slipped one hand into Bakura's, pulling him aside. "You don't have to put on a show for them, I'm sure Kaiba already told them. Besides, do you think Kaiba would ever employ anyone who would ask the wrong questions?" Wrapping his free hand around Bakura's waist, he kissed his lover. "I have P.E. last period, I can get out of it, if you want. Just tell me... later."

Giving his lover one last kiss, he turned back and headed to the door, a little roll in his walk. Two of the guards peeled off and walked Ryou out the door. Bakura leaned against the wall and stared at the two remaining. "Aren't you supposed to be with Ryou?"

"No, sir." Hitomi stood quietly, "Two guards for each of you during the day, three guards for Ryou and yourself at night, and two for Tristan at night. It helps that you are all in the same house. As well, Master Kaiba is offering all relatives of our principals a chance to spend time in an alternate venue during this crisis."

"Hmmm. Well, are we going?" Bakura stood up and headed for the door.

"Yes," Hitomi stood back and opened the door. The other guard went through and Hitomi bowed, "After you, oh fair and most beautiful pale one."

Bakura cackled and walked out, one hand flipping the knife.

* * *

6:37 a.m. 

Kaiba Corp. Headquarters

Kisigawa stretched backwards and thumped his chair on the ground. Stomach growling, he reached for his coffee. Cold sludge slopped over the rim and splashed on his hand. Crying out, he opened his hand and let the cup fall. "DAMN!!!! How the fuck would they get the key?"

"Sir?" One of the lab tech frowned. "They couldn't get the key. To get the key they'd have to have a key to our systems."

"Impossible, none of KaibaCorp.'s doors last long enough to make a copy of a key that will keep working. Even our computers have trouble." The other lab tech scoffed. "The only way they could get in is a back door, those would be stable. Except we revamped everything a few years ago, when Seto took over. After Miaka Taylor was fired, they kept her system only long enough to replace it... sir?" The other lab tech looked at his boss. "Sir?"

"Miaka Taylor... Gatchaman was using Miaka Taylor's backdoors to breach our system. Master Kaiba told me so. I thought the backdoors were in our firewalls or protections but they aren't. They can't be... what if the backdoors are in the KC's core programming. What if the backdoor was... physical in a way? Such as the main computer is programmed to let in anyone who accesses from a special phone number or with a particular modem signal... We used KC's main computer to create the key. Then we locked it in there... we were sure only a Kaiba could get to it. YOU!!! Saitoh! Check and see if Miaka Taylor ever worked on the core computer. I think we are in deep shit."

Saitoh grabbed his friend and headed to the one place he could trust to have accurate information, the personnel vaults. They had to get their hands on the actual hardcopy.

* * *

7:00 a.m

Seto Kaiba opened the door and entered the room. Eyes traveling over the man tied to the bed. "Michael Wheeler."

The blonde man tilted his head back and focused on the young man standing to his side. A frown deepened on his face. "Kaiba... what do you want? To kill me as you killed my son?"

"I haven't killed Joey. In fact, I just left him. We had a good night together. He's a nice armful... and _mine_. That doesn't concern you. What does concern you is the terms for your release."

"Release?" Wheeler's eyes lit up.

"Yes, release. You will have a curfew, I will provide you with a job, you will get a better apartment, you will not do drugs or drink, you will not touch my lover, and he will only be home for three days out of the entire week. Also, you will not fight me, otherwise I will point out how well I took care of him while you were in... _here_." Seto stepped closer and leaned down. His whispered softly, "And don't worry, I'll make sure Iwata knows where to find you. I'm sure you wouldn't mind using two of your free days for dating, would you? If you disagree, I'm sure we can leave you here for a lot longer. Are we agreed?"

Wheeler cut his eyes towards the door, "What about him? Three days?"

"Yes, he wanted me to give you to him permanently. I'll keep him from you except for those three days. The two weeknights that Joey isn't with you, one day on the weekend as a family day. And we don't want him to know about this, now do we?"

Wheeler nodded. "Deal."

Kaiba nodded and walked away. He opened the door and stepped out, closing it behind him. Iwata stood beside the door. Frowning, Kaiba beckoned him and started down the hallway. Stopping in front of an open inventory closet, he pushed his flunky in.

"He's leaving, Iwata."

" **NO!** "

Seto looked at him, one eyebrow rising slowly. "No?"

"Please, Mr. Kaiba, I can't let go of him, he's my angel. I need him, haven't I served you faithfully?" Iwata fell to his need, eyes wide behind the idiosyncratic wire frames. "Please, Kaiba-sama, I do not need the money, just my angel. I'll do anything you want, just leave me my angel." 

"I have to release him, Iwata. He is my lover's father. He would not understand my giving him to you, but I have negotiated a... chance for you. Wheeler knows that he is not to upset his son. I have arranged a deal with him. You can 'date' him three times a week. The two weeknights, he doesn't have Joey, and once on the weekend. A family day during which you will charm Joey to the point that he has no objection of his dad's new lover. Be nice to my Joey. He is my angel as Michael is yours.

"And in a few months, at most a year, when it's not so strange... we'll move Michael into your house. After all, it's better if he has someone around to help him through the rough times. So, be patient! And get off your knees." Seto turned, yanked open the door and left the kneeling man in the dark. Eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you... for my beautiful angel." Smiling Noritaka Iwata stepped out into the hallway and headed for his angel's room. His angel's hard day was over and he could do with a nap and perhaps a little exploration tonight.

* * *

"Please, Lady Knight Eiri, we are so close!" Adena cried and grabbed for hand. "Please, my land needs you, don't give up!"

"I won't, Adena, promise. Though this maze is kicking my as... patootie. Left or right?" Eiri Sukiyabashi, attired in medieval armor, frowned and nodded to the left. "Come on."

She headed toward the left fork, her steel shoes clattering against the stone. She didn't feel a small stone sink beneath her weight. A rumble reverberated through her metal second skin. Glancing back, she saw Adena smirking.

"Adena... what's wrong?"

Adena's eyes flickered up, Eiri's eyes following. A stone slab rumbled on its way down. Eiri spun, her feet slipping, as it lowered. The last thing she heard was Adena's cruel laughter.

Adena stroked her small hands through her hair as the slab cut off Eiri's cries. "Noa!"

A globe of iridescent blue floated through the air gently and enveloped 'Adena'. 'She' relaxed as the bubble collapse in on itself and transported 'her' to 'her' other self. In midair a shimmer rippled through the bubble and it disappeared, letting the princess fall through the air. 'Her' breath whooshed out as strong arms caught her. 

"My savior! You will help me rescue my land, won't you?" Adena asked, her deep blue eyes wide. Slim hands clutching her savior's shirt.

"Nkosi," Noa shook his head and pulled him closer.

"I know not this Nkosi. Oh, please brave warrior, won't you help me?" 'Adena' declared.

Noa rolled his eyes and walked over towards a shining panel. Twisting one hand to hold onto his... ancient friend and tapped a small patch of light. Sighing, he looked at him and said, "Fair lady, I would be honored to help thee if you but reward me with one boon, my princess."

"And what boon may a poor lady, such as myself give to thee?"

"A kiss, a mere kiss to warm my heart and keep me in joy for many days to come."

'Adena's' face softened and 'she' leaned closer. Closing her eyes she brushed her lips against Noa's. Eyes fluttering open, 'she' pulled back and smiled. "Was that fair enough, my... prince."

"Yes, to be true it was fair but it could be fairer." Noa swung the 'princess' to stand.

"And how so?" 'Adena' ran her hand through her hair, turning it a blue green color. 'Her' beautiful rich blue eyes fell to scales revealing green eyes full of fear.

"Ahhh, most simply by my Princess becoming _his_ very own self."

'Adena' ran 'her' hands down 'her' body, the dress disappearing. Nkosi stood before Noa, dressed in a simple kilt of white linen with gold designs sown on the edges. Slowly, his hands rose, the loose bracelets of designed gold clinking. Dark hands cupped Noa's pale face gently, "Should we do this? Noa..."

"I... I... I don't know. I've never felt like this." Noa leaned in, lips pressing against Nkosi. A moan crawled out of his throat as he felt Nkosi's arms rise up around him and tightened. He felt those hands dig into his hair. He felt fingers twisting in his hair and pulling his head back.

"Noa... Noa, wait." The ancient Egyptian pushed the young man back. "I forgot, your father placed you in that false world before you had time to grow up much. We mustn't do this. I don't mean ever, just not now."

The younger man lowered his eyes and stepped back, out of the once welcoming arms. He turned around and brought up another panel, stared at the glowing buttons. Arms wrapped themselves around his waist. Lips grazed his neck. "Not now, Noa... I have felt this before; it is care and perhaps honor and respect. It is trust and gentleness but if we take this to its destined conclusion then at the final battle I will be more concerned with your state than winning. And we must win. For both of us to live, we must win. Once we live again, I will show you wonder and the fine details of sharing our bodies and lives together. I swear it. By the sun, Ra, and the earth, Geb, I swear it."

Noa nodded as his friend's hand caressed his chest. "Promise."

"Oh, by the gods, I do." He turned Noa's head towards himself and kissed him slowly, tongue flickering out to caress the lips. "I swear it."

* * *

7:25 a.m.

Seto groaned silently as he settled back into his seat. The leather of the car seat gave slightly, cradling him. Surprised, he realized that he didn't really want to be going to the office right now, if he had a choice, he'd be with Mokie and Joey packing to come here. A loud beep interrupted his reflection.

Frustrated, Kaiba flicked on his speakerphone. "Yes!"

Kisigawa yelped and, Seto could hear him sitting up, "Uhhh, I'm sorry to interrupt you, Master Kaiba but security has just informed me of a reporter who is asking to speak with you concerning a problem with our new VR systems."

"What problem?"

"People slipping into comas, sir. Much like what happened with the Big Five and yourself. We have a list provided to us by the reporter, I have him 'waiting' pending verification. Unnecessary, since we have confirmed that each one is in a coma. I will send a message to your PDA. This means there's a definite problem, sir! Someone has hacked the VR source code, which I would have believed to be impossible. I have already called in our medical teams..."

"Dr. Hara?" 

"He brought up many points, points we didn't consider because we simply didn't realize how different teenage brain chemistry and interaction is. I think we should keep him on staff or at least on call. "

"Fine. Bring him in on this fully. Give him a consultant's fee." Seto nodded, mind thinking furiously.

"Yes, sir."

"I have found someone... who may help you. Have you heard of a hacker that goes by the pseudonym of 'Gatchaman'?" Seto picked up a stylus and flipped open a PDA. Find the list, he reviewed the names and recognized none of them. "I have discovered his true identity and, this afternoon, he will be assigned to your team and put on the payroll. In return, he has agreed to help us improve our system and work for KaibaCorp. At the moment, he's supposedly using the backdoor of a former head of the department. Find it and close it."

"Yes, sir." Kisigawa swallowed audibly, "I'll keep the reporter here, sir. Thank you."

Seto nodded and disconnected the call. Already, he thought of who could be doing this. Noa could, as an android, perhaps he had better skills with computers... if they could ever understand one another, they'd work on a project or two. Lips curling at the direction of his thoughts, he closed his eyes and waited for his driver to navigate through traffic.

* * *

A knock of the dividing window brought Kaiba back to himself. Looking out the window, he realized they were less than 2 miles from Kaiba Corp., but the traffic would make it a fifteen-minute ride. 

"Yes, Kei?"

"Master Kaiba, The Taylor team reports that their principal is headed here. Apparently, there has been a break-in. They are bringing the information now. The reporter being held is named Naota Kanzi; it appears that Kanzi is threatening to reveal information about several young people who have been hospitalized after interacting with our products. Do you wish to do something about him, sir?"

Seto frowned, "Yes, invite him to meet me for an exclusive in two hours. Then keep him isolated until further notice."

"Very well, sir. Also, I have instructed the team that is guarding Yami Bakura to pull him from the game as soon as possible. Considering what I know about the incident with the Big Five, we have considered that it may be another attempt on your or the principals."

"Very well. After school, I want everyone here. Check in with me in an hour." Seto leaned back, "I know it's you, Noa... and that fiend Nkosi. One way or another I will destroy you. No matter what Yami wishes."

* * *

7:30 a.m.

Bakura turned around and nodded. The skill in building a whole new world was amazing, he had to admit that arrogant twit actually could do something right. Shrugging, he looked at the gear he had chosen and nodded, a thief was the perfect character for him, not to mention all the weapons that were available for choice. However, he was sure he could put another long knife on himself; the computer had refused him a tenth weapon. Making sure nothing was showing or rattling, he looked down the hill towards the town. Realizing this was the beginning of the game, he knew that he'd actually have to start exploring before anything would happen. As he walked down the hill, he saw a flash of red cloth. A young girl was peering through the trees. Smirking, he pulled his hat low on his head, ducked his face and headed to the town.

* * *

A red globe popped out of the air above them and Noa sighed. "Another one, shall you take or I?"

"I will, Meryt . I know little about this web of captured lightning. Besides, you like to see me in the dress... don't you?" Nkosi smiled, eyes flirting.

Noa licked his lips and stepped up close. "I like you anyways you want to be, including naked." 

Nkosi placed a soft kiss on Noa's half-open lips, pulling away as his counterpart started to whine, "I'll be back."

"Fiend... hurry!"

Nkosi bowed low and turned around as the 'Adena' skin settled around him. Curtseying with proper skill, 'she' opened a hole and stepped through.

* * *

'Adena' landed gracefully, her brown calfskin boots made very little sound as they sank into the virtual dirt. She brushed down her skirt, the pale blue mirroring her eyes. A tightly laced red bodice held a white shirt close to her body. It provided a little definition, hinting at the figure, 'Adena' would have when she was a little older. Noa and Nkosi had often wondered about Seto's state of mind when he programmed this. Laughing silently, she tucked her hair under a small white cap, letting several graceful and tempting curls to escape. Crouching down, she took some dirt and rubbed it gently on her face. Looking around, she heard some trickling water. Splashing it on her face to simulate tear tracks, she shrugged one shoulder down slightly and picked up her skirts. Laughing she ran through the woods and waited for 'her' hero to come.

* * *

Bakura noticed the young woman shadowing him, slowing down; he allowed her catch up to him. Spinning around, he grabbed her. "Hello."

"Oh please sir, do not hurt me. I was just watching you, I... I need your help. My... my father and I were taken captive and I escaped. I need to get to the castle. Please help me. Please!" Her large indigo eyes teared up.

"Sure thing... my _lady_. So who are you?"

"My name... is Adena. And you, sir, what may I call you?"

Bakura pushed his hat up and stared at her eyes. "You may call me Kare."

"Thank you, Kare." She took his hand and looked up at him. "Thank you so much. We have to hurry. They were following me. I don't want them to catch up to me. We can get to the city faster and easier if we go through the old city. You can't see it from the top of the hill, but the road winds outward and around the old city. It means almost a half-day more of walking. And we only have three days to reach the castle before they do." 

"Fine... then we should hurry to the city. You need pants." Bakura said as he headed down the hill.

"Breeches? But Kare, I am a young lady of some standing, I must not wear breeches." She looked shocked.

"In this case you will." Bakura grabbed her by the shoulder, "now which way."

"This way, fair Bakare." Adena replied, her voice flattening a bit.

Bakura's eyes narrowed but he followed her anyways. The tight clothing, the simple lines, if nothing else Seto would have a career in clothes. Of course such a blatant tempting version of Mokuba made Bakura wonder about Seto. He followed her as she semi slid down the slope. In a hollow, lay the entrance to the Old City. Something about her tickled his memories. He pushed her towards the entrance while he searched for any followers. As he entered the city, he thought about what she had called him...

_"This way, fair Bakare."_

Slipping a knife from the sheath on his forearm, he grabbed her from behind and slipped the knife over her throat. "Well, Nkosi, this is a surprise, I never expected to see you in a dress."

She froze, "Kare? What's wrong, let me go!"

"You called me 'Bakare', _'Adena'_. I didn't even know that name until recently. So Nkosi, tell me, just what are you up to?" Bakura leaned close, whispering in the tiny shell of an ear.

"I... oh, Kare!" She twisted, her voice becoming harsher. She threw her head back and slammed into Bakura's nose. "Bakare, do you like this world. You can stay here!" Laughing maniacally, 'Adena' scuttled away. A knife appeared in her hand. A bronze knife. A triangular blade with deep furrows on each side, it was hilted with a triangular haft turned thirty degrees off of true. Together they made a six-pointed star. The base of the haft was a stylized globe, an eye. The Millennium Eye.

Bakura flinched as a furiously red globe appeared behind 'Adena'. It grew and she stepped through. Bakura flinched as a piercing pain penetrated his leg. Looking down he saw the eye of her blade staring up at him. Refusing to scream, he stared where 'Adena' had fled with absolute hate in his eyes.

* * *

7:55 a.m.

KC Arcade, Private Room

Hitomi stared at the display. It seemed cheesy for such a high tech system but since the game really was inside the person's head, no one would really mind the pixilated graphics. He watched as Bakare Bakura wandered the virtual world, and picked up weapons. He saw as his principal met the princess and she led him to the old city. He watched as Bakura got separated and trapped in the old city's maze. Sitting back, he waved for his partner to settle down and watch the game proceed.

Sano kept one eye on the sensors; making sure they didn't get anywhere near the crisis point. Glancing at the clock, he realized it had only been twenty minutes since Bakare had hooked up. If he continued at this pace then he could be finished as early as thirty minutes from now. Glancing at the clock, he wondered if it was too early to check in with home office.

* * *

8:00 a.m.

Kaiba Corp

Main Computer Room

Saitoh huffed as he dropped the files on the desk, "Tano, maybe we are looking at this the wrong way."

"You mean that we have a grievous problem with our security? You mean that it's wrong to think we... we royally screwed up and that Kaiba-sama is gonna fire us, blacklist us, and make us and our families suffer endlessly?"

"Ummm... no. I mean, we're trying to close Miaka Taylor's back door, and that it's possibly a physical one that we can't close without destroying the computer. So maybe the solution isn't ripping the computer to shreds but rather... destroying Gatchaman's credibility and his physical link. If he can't rebuild it and can't spread the information..." Saitoh raised one eyebrow.

"Yeah, but... 

"But?"

"But it'd just be easier if we got in touch with Taylor and ask her about it?"

"And you think she'd tell the truth to us? To Kaiba? If I were Gatchaman, I'd use her holes to make my own spaces. That's beside the point, thing is, I want to make sure Gatchaman is out of business. It would make our lives a bit easier. Especially if he's spreading our info out there."

"Very true, but you want to hear something interesting? I heard that perhaps we may be working with Gatchaman soon." Tano raised one eyebrow. "Now let's get some work done."

"Sure thing." Saitoh started flipping pages. A few minutes later a knock interrupted them and Kisigawa stuck his head in. "Mr. Kaiba will be here in less than a half hour, we have an emergency meeting with him at noon, if it doesn't get pushed back. Get your data together and get ready." Having delivered his message, Kisigawa walked on.

Tano stared at his friend and back at the piles of paper. "We're screwed."

* * *

8:27 a.m.

Tristan lugged the tower of his computer up the steps, a guard at the door moved to stop him until one of his own waved them away. The guard opened the door and Tristan let himself be led to an elevator. One pushed the button, while Tristan leaned against the cool metal of the elevator. "So when do I get to talk to Kaiba?"

His guard looked at him, "Not now, apparently there is more than just your hacked computer going on. Before we tell him that you were hacked, we need to find out what was hacked and what it means to us. You never go to Master Kaiba without details and a plan to prevent it from happening again. So right now, we're gonna go to Kisigawa, he's out main guy. He's the one who realized you were hacking us and he's working on preventing it again."

"Okay, then let's hurry up, we don't know what he has or how he's gonna use it but we know it's gonna be trouble for us!"

"Hai."

* * *

10:15 a.m.

Mudaro stared at the reporter through the one-way glass. A very normal sort of man. The reporter was pacing back and forth, arms crossed. His hair was normal Japanese black and cut short on top. It fell to just above his shoulders making it a bit longer than professional. He was dressed in a light cream three-piece suit with a tan tie. Dark shoes click across the floor. The Frustrated reporter growled low in his throat. Wiping every expression from his face, Mudaro opened a well-camouflaged door and entered the room.

"Naota Kanzi, I am Mudaro, head of Kaiba Corp. Security. Before you may see my master, I need to know what about. You claim it has to do with the new VR game and wisely gave no details to those who could not help you but unless you tell me all you know, I shall not escort you into Master Kaiba. 

"Are you trying to give your _master_ time to hide what he's done?" Kanzi stared at the large man.

"No, Master Kaiba has done nothing wrong, and therefore has no reason to hide." Mudaro sat down and arranged several items on the table before him. Slipping a tape to an inbuilt recorder, he switched it on.

"Mudaro, interviewing Reporter Naota Kanzi, on supposed concerns of the new release of the video game. Mr. Kanzi, what evidence you have to accuse our Master of wrong doing."

"Very well." Naota Kanzi sat down and pulled a tape recorder out of his pocket. "I'll assume you won't mind me taping as well. I am here today with records of five separate cases of young men and women falling into comas upon using Kaiba's new game. Here are _copies_ of the records I requested. The first I found was André Broussard, age 16, hospitalized at Sté. Reoun in St. Gilles, France. He was reported to have gotten into the game and suddenly when they tied to disconnect him, they were unable to wake him. Less than three absolute hours later, the second one, Gunter Shank, age 21 was hospitalized at Comme Hospital in Nordhausen, Germany. Again, he was found in the pod of the new game. Dan Anderton, age 19, and his friend Milo Lawton, age 18, were hospitalized at St. Francis in Westhaven, British Columbia, Canada. Again both of them were unable to be awoken. Are you seeing a pattern here? Most recently was Leo Hernandez, age 17, now hospitalized at San Angelo Hospital in Puerta del Sol, Puerto Rico. Explanation?

"I have none, of course I'll ask you to wait while I confirm these cases but it may merely be that the young men in question inadvisably did drugs prior to the use of the pods. We do not recommend people use drugs and especially not prior to use of the pods. The pods equipment reads brain waves, drugs disrupt that. It maybe that simple if it has happened, and they may have woke up since. In either case, I ask you to wait, just for a while, so that I may confirm. Once I have confirmed it, if it is so, then I will inform Master Kaiba and he may decide to see you. It should take no more than an hour or so. Please excuse me." Mudaro stood up and headed to the door, as he opened it, he pulled out a phone. Stepping through, he closed and locked the door. He turned to watch Kanzi in the room. Suddenly he could hear Hitomi answer.

"Hitomi, Mudaro. Noa has breached the new VR system. Pull Bakare out, he would be a fine catch. I'll wait until you've told me he's awake."

Mudaro heard the team leader ordering the system shut down and the raised voices. As Hitomi came back, he knew it was too late.

"Hitomi, I'm ordering a portable power source to be delivered to your location, let no one in except team 12, they'll be carrying it. We'll move him, still inside the pod to the lab. I will inform Master Kaiba about my failure." Mudaro turned off the phone and leaned his head against the window. Sighing, he quickly sent messages to the other teams and ordered them all to bring their principals to Kaiba Corp. at lunch. Head down, he dialed 1. 

"Master Kaiba, it's Mudaro. Principal Bakare Bakura was using the VR system earlier today and it appears as if Noa has trapped him in VR. I have failed."

* * *

11:35 a.m.

Ohmuna checked the sheet of paper before placing it back into the manila folder and nodded. "Good job, Kawagari. Pop the trunk, we may have to put some stuff in."

"Hai." Kawagari sat still as his partner got out and headed for the apartment building.

Ohmuna walked up the steps and headed for the elevator. As it rose, he straightened up tie and opened the file folder. He scanned the folder. He noted that the doctor had attended Master Joey. That alone made Ohmuna smile, for they had all notice how attentive Master Kaiba was to other young man. Despite the fact that it was a young man, they were happy that Master Kaiba did love someone other than his brother. This time they didn't have near as many vicious rumors to squash. Stepping out of the elevator, he headed down the hall. He stopped before apartment 1045 and knocked. An intercom crackled to life and a sweet voice came from a speaker, "Yes?"

"Mrs. Yuzuriha Hara?" He pressed the large white button and leaned down to speak into the speaker.

"Yes. And you are?"

"I am Kappei Ohmuna, from Kaiba Corp. May I please speak to Dr. Hara."

"One moment."

* * *

Yuzuriha turned to face her husband. "Toru?"

"I... I'm not sure. I did take care of that young man who was in a coma, he is Kaiba's friend. I'm to check on him later, let him in, maybe something wrong. Let me grab my bag."

She nodded and opened the door, "Please come in Mr. Ohmuna."

"Thank you, you may simply call me Ohmuna. Dr. Hara?"

"Getting his bag, is the young man okay?"

"Master Joey is fine, but your husband is skilled in the teenage brain and it's various complexities. It is those skills we need." He replied, standing still."

"Oh... well would you like to sit down, perhaps some tea?" She bit her bottom lip, the man was so... imposing just standing there.

"No thank you, madam, we have to leave immediately. Though I wish we did have time." Ohmuna bowed slightly.

Hara entered the room to hear the last few words. "We have to leave."

"Yes, Doctor. While Joey is fine, there have been some problems that we believe you may be able to fix for us. The lives of six young people depend on it.

"Let's go. I'll call you Yuzuriha." Hara opened the door and Ohmuna followed.

* * *

Kawagari held the door open as the doctor entered. Nodding to Ohmuna he walked behind the car, slamming the trunk door closed. Getting into the driver's seat, he started back to Kaiba Corp.

* * *

12:27 p.m.

_I... hate... this... man... he... is... not... a... man... he... is... a... de... mon... in... human... form!!!_ Joey fell back on the mat and closed his eyes.

"Come on, you're almost done, Joey. You're bouncing back like a trooper." The young man looked at Joey.

"You are evil. Leave me alone. I want to sleep!"

"Hmmm really? Does that mean you don't want to have sex with Kaiba anytime during the rest of the year, from the way you looked at him this morning..."

"HEY! THAT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS." Joey jerked up, his back spasming as he sat up. "OW!"

"Hey now... no sudden movement, you just woke up a couple days ago. But you still need to do three more leg lifts. Then we'll pop you into the whirlpool and let you soak all your troubles away.

"I hate you."

"That's ok, you're not paying me!" Kei, Kaiba Corps. best physical therapist laughed and knelt beside Joey's legs and smiled at him. Slowly lifting Joey's leg and straightening it out, "Okay, eight."

* * *

Seto stared at Joey, hair still trimmed short, skin pale but flush at the cheeks and the back of his neck. Lines of pain surrounded his eyes and mouth. And all because of him, of a hatred born so many years ago. In ancient Egypt and in his own past. The first by madness, the second by the madness of another. Joey and Mokuba had suffered for him. Now Yami Bakura. One way or another he would find a way to defeat Noa and Nkosi, he would not let them harm his family anymore. Looking at the folders from his research department, he knew, he'd kill this brother before he allowed him to kill any others!

Turning around, he stared at the person coming down the hall. "Mokuba."

"Nii-sama!" Mokuba ran over to him. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. Joey's barking at the physical therapist."

"Nii-sama! He's not that bad. Tatsuhiko told me they are pulling everyone in at lunch. What happened?" Mokuba took his brother's hand to make sure he wasn't going to walk off.

Seto stared at him, "Very well, might as well tell you both at the same time. Come on." 

Mokuba nodded and refused to let Seto's hand go as they entered the gym. Joey was gone from the mat but Seto remembered what Kei had said and headed towards the whirlpools in the back. Mokuba smiled as Joey noticed them.

"I'd get up but Kei tortured me." Joey leaned back, caramel eyes staring at Seto. He raised one hand and waited.

"Hey, Joey. Kei's not that bad. He wasn't with me." Mokuba dropped his brother's hand and sat down beside Joey, taking off his shoes so he could dangle his feet in the warm water.

Seto sat beside Joey. One hand wrapped around Joey's. "Keep it in the water, you will stiffen up. We have a problem; five young men have fallen into comas while using the virtual reality pods. All outside of Japan. Today we had our first attacks inside Japan a young woman named Eiri Sukiyabashi and another. It's... the one you call Yami Bakura. He was having a private game and when they tried to get him out, they couldn't. Mudaro had them transport him to my labs. I have called in Dr. Hara. He told me he specializes in teenage brains. I haven't told Ryou yet, and... I can't believe I'm asking about this! Do you know how long Yami Bakura can exist outside of Ryou?"

"Bakura, then that means... Damn! Noa got him. Seto..." Joey closed his eyes, "No, I don't know how long. Yami can't exist outside Yugi but Bakura can be outside of Ryou. We think it's because Yugi is just Yami's reincarnation, while Bakura was 'eaten' by the Ring, so he can still reform a body." 

"So possibly he doesn't have to return the ring, good." Seto turned to face his brother, "Forget about school work, you can make it up later, we have to figure out how Noa is doing this. Tristan is on his way here, said something about his being hacked possibly by Noa. And one more fact, one I plan to share with no one but us. I had someone background on each of them and their families. Naturally, we search for everything that could cause brain anomalies, anything medical. Each one of them is a result of fertility programs. I'm assembling more information on their families as we speak."

Joey looked from brother to brother. "Great, he isn't picking them at random, he's killing his brothers!"

* * *

12:49 p.m.

Tristan held open the door to the meeting room. For some reason Kaiba insisted on him waiting until almost 1 p.m. Didn't he know that they couldn't afford to waste the time? He and Joey could neck later! Tristan nodded and noticed everyone who was there. Yami, not Yugi. Ryou but not Bakura, Duke, Joey's doctor, and that Kisigawa guy he was working with. Isis sat next to Rashid who had his arm around Malik. Shadi sat across from them, his eerie eyes closed. Frowning, he sat down beside Ryou, taking his hand under the table and smiling at him. Ryou squeezed his hand and placed in on his lap. A door opened behind him and a silvery haired man entered, as he sat beside Duke, he pulled his hair from his face. A silvery gray eye patch covered his left eye, light scattering off a shimmering surface. As Tristan focused, he realized it was the shape of Funny Bunny in tiny little pearls. A door opened and Seto came in, pushing Joey in a wheelchair, with Mokuba walking beside him. Mokuba headed to the right hand side of the table and sat down. Joey took over for Seto and wheeled the chair into the left hand spot. Seto stood behind his chair at the head of the table and looked around at all of them. The lights dimmed and a spot of light outlined Seto. 

"Ok, a little background for all those who are confused. While it seems impossible to believe, I unfortunately have been subjected to such things that there can be no other excuse but what it is. 5000 years ago, there was a pharaoh with several siblings. They died; some were killed by their sibling named Nkosi. Supposedly the high priest killed Nkosi after Nkosi had killed the high priest's husband. Why Nkosi felt the need to kill his siblings is still unknown though it may have been guided by some form of mental illness. Those siblings have been reincarnated now. Each sibling so far reincarnated is a possessor of the so-called 'Millennium Items'. 

"Now let's jump to about eighteen years ago. Gozabarou Kaiba, wanting a pool of 'intelligent' people to use in his company, started a fertility clinic. He chose women who fit his standards of intelligence and other criteria and deliberately made sure they could not conceive. Many of these women worked in Kaiba Corp. or its subsidiaries; therefore, we believe it was in an additive that was slipped into their environment. Those women were all suggested to a particular clinic, the 'Goodkind Clinic'. He replaced their selected donor or husband's DNA with his own. He cuckolded many men into raising his children. Then his own 'acknowledged' child was in an accident. Noa Kaiba was in a body that could not function anymore. And that's when Kaiba got the idea to make 'Project Golem'."

Tristan blinked as a spotlight focused on him. Coughing, he stood up, his hand brushing Ryou's shoulder as it did. "Yes, well... as you know, I'm Gatchaman. I hacked into Kaiba Corp.'s main computer and found out about Project Golem. Kaiba copied his son's brain patterns into a virtual world and left him there though he gave him anything else he wanted. Noa, it appears, has made progress in achieving an access point to the World Wide Web. He then apparently made his way into the web and away from Kaiba Corp. How he got out of the country to enter again as the young head of North Oceanics Aviation, we don't know.

"Today, I went home to get some clothes and discovered that Noa has hacked me. How he did it, isn't really important, what is important is that he has everything I have on Kaiba Corp. Which means almost everything that was in your main computer."

"No... everything, but... you must have really hated us, Tristan." Mokuba shook his head. "So Noa doesn't need to hack Kaiba Corp., he just had to hack you. Your security isn't as strong as Kaiba Corporation's, so it was easier. Since he lives on the Web, he could track 'Gatchaman' down easily."

Ryou frowned, "If your security is so strong, how did Tristan break in?"

Kisigawa turned to look at him, "Bakura-san, it wasn't exactly a fault in our security as much as a backdoor written by the programmer that is hardwired into the computer. There is a line, one that cannot be tapped, technically doesn't exist but it also cannot be disengaged from the computer, it has one and only one terminal and it will open to that terminal only if it gets the proper code. Taylor-san has that code. It was built into his computer modem. Noa couldn't duplicate it, so he let 'Gatchaman' do the theft, and he stole from 'Gatchaman'.

"And now it's my turn for bad news, I found on Tristan's machine, the complete and unscrambled key. That's how he got into the VR worlds, he has the key and we are going to change it. We could do it by updating systems but it's been decided that we will actually take each pod off line and attach it to a portable and isolated source, and then we will update the key. I've already dispatched every team in every city, it will take them three hours, but until then, everyone who links in is in danger." Kisigawa leaned back. "As for my other recommendations, 'Gatchaman' must die. If you want to hire him, Master Kaiba fine, but one way or another, Tristan Taylor must not ever use that computer, or that modem again. I've ordered the information to be copied and the modem removed, the system to be destroyed!"

Tristan stared at the older man before lunging at him; his bodyguards leapt forward and stopped him before he could wrap his hand around Kisigawa's neck.

"Fine, Sio. I'll replace his system. See about hiring Miaka Taylor again." Seto frowned. "Sit down and shut up, Taylor. Considering how compromised your system was, it's no great loss. As I said I'll replace it. As for 'Gatchaman' he must and will die. You have no idea what you have done, it is a great a crime as Joey's father."

Mokuba nodded and pressed a button, suddenly behind Seto, a screen lowered and five pictures took up the screen three on one row, two on another, with a two blank rectangles at the end. "These five young men have all been trapped in the VR world. Noa apparently told a reporter, quite anonymously, about them. Each one was playing Legendary Heroes; each one is now in a coma. It was impossible for this to happen without the key, except he now has it, thanks to you, Tristan."

Tristan dropped back into his seat, taking Ryou's hand and staring the screen. 

"Worse, we don't know if we can get them back. That's why we asked you here, Dr. Hara. Right now, we are leaking a news story that a 'group of madmen, angered at Kaiba Corp. is physically tampering with certain machines. They are lacing them with psychotropic drugs that once absorb into the skin affect the brain wave patterns. Since our pods rely on brain wave patterns, this causes a temporary but completely reversible coma.' You told my brother, that teenage brains are different. Help us."

Hara stood and bowed. "I don't know whether you are deranged in believing this is the result of somebody who is the reincarnation of some Ancient Egyptian royalty, and frankly I don't care. I do know that we must save these children. Allow me to call my hospital and tell them that I won't be coming in."

Seto nodded, "Already did. Now the five of them were each outside of Japan, today we had our first attack. One we didn't have to learn about from the press. Eiri Sukiyabashi. A young woman," Seto clicked a button and the sixth picture popped into view, a young woman with dark blue eyes stared out at them. "Then came another attack, one more significant to all of us here." Again he click and the seventh hole filled in. Bakare Bakura was staring out at them.

Tristan dropped back into his seat, tears popping to his eyes, he turned to look at Ryou, who was trying to contact his other half. Suddenly the full impact of what his vengeful attack on Kaiba has cost them hammered into him. "Bakare."


	16. Chapter 16

Monday 24th

Hey Yugi,

Class is almost over; we just have our final exams, and then I can board the jet to come home. I can't wait, Yugi! I miss you all; there are times when I lay on my bed and think of all of you. Remember the friendship symbol we drew on our hands at Duelist's Kingdom? During class, I can still feel it. Then I remember you, Joey, and Tristan. It helps, now that I'm coming home. Soon it will be time for the Cherry Blossom Festival, perhaps this year Joey can convince Kaiba to join us.

Oh, Kaiba's new VR game debuted here, but a day late. Apparently, there was a delay in delivery. I tried to get tickets to play but they were sold out. My friend did have tickets and he got passes for the next day.

I've missed home so much that I've subscribed to a couple of Japanese chat rooms and lists, including one for those of Domino. It's a great list, and it's called Domino News: http://groups.yahoo.jp.com/group/DominoNews. Lately it has been burning up with the news that Kaiba and Mokuba were attacked. According to the article, a school mate who was staying temporarily with the CEO was also injured. Please tell me it's not Joey. They said that he suffered a head injury, which resulted in a short-term coma. The article didn't exactly calm my fears especially that part

'When asked how this had happened, Kaiba replied, "Cowardly people performing cowardly acts. Attacking from the shadows like ninja yet without even half the honor. For they have not declared vendetta nor challenged me. They act without honor or even pride. My security force has have been ordered to take all steps necessary to protect my people. I will not sacrifice anyone to these... cowards."

'Since then, Kaiba has kept his brother and his school mate under close watch, as well as several other school mates."

Yugi, I know what's going on isn't some kind of hostile takeover. What's happening? What happened to Joey?

Friendship forever,

Tea

* * *

Ms. Kari Mudaro sighed and hung up the phone. All hospitals reported the cases were in stable condition. Unconscious with some brain functions but no outward response to stimulus. It's like they can think and feel but are unable to react. Blank slates. Huge babies. Over and over again Repeatedly the answers were the same. Mudaro stood up and sorted the files she had started for each person. Walking down the hall, she thought of how much her young boss had changed. It started after Death T when Mokuba sat by his side as he recovered. Then it continued as the Muto child and friends kept thwarting him. But the true tool of change had to be young Wheeler. No matter how much young Mokuba loved his brother, it wouldn't compare to the love of one good man for another and that was wonderful. In fact, she already knew what two secretaries she was going to assigned to the young Kaiba and Wheeler.

She stopped at a wooden door, painted a medical green. So many changes since Gozabarou's death, though her favorite had to be the red and blue marble tiled floor. Now, the forty-second floor is no longer merely for the Kaiba's exclusive use. She had fulfilled the order to prepare several of the suites for occupation by the others. Not to mention, that Drs. Kisigawa and Hara had been moved onto the floor as well. Placing a serene look on her face, she knocked on the door. "Dr. Hara? I have some files for you.

* * *

Kanzi paced back and forth. When he got out of here, he would destroy Kaiba. The fool, to think that no one would notice he was gone or to give up looking for him once they did notice. Kaiba was way over his head, and in his arrogance, he had committed figurative suicide! The door rattled before it opened and a woman stood there. As if, he was to be relegated to some mere female.

Mudaro stepped in, nodding to the guard on the door. She walked over to the table in the middle of the room, set her files down, and looked at him for a minute. Mr. Naota Kanzi, welcome. I am sorry that I took so long but it was quite late at some of the hospitals I had to call. It took some time to get people of sufficient authority to approve certain requests. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Kari Mudaro and I am Mr. Kaiba's personal secretary. I know you feel slighted to be dealing with a woman; however, you may rest assured Mr. Kaiba feels he owes you quite a debt and I am the one who repays his debts. Now please, tell me if you can how you found out about these cases."

"You must be kidding me." Kanzi sat down hard and laughed. "Why the hell would I help that ass you claim to serve?"

"Oh, Mr. Kaiba is an ass, and he can be cruel, vicious, malicious, petty, and horrible. He does however engender a great loyalty in _all_ his workers. He inherited it from Gozabarou Kaiba but he's turned a legacy into absolute loyalty. He would not hide his bad dealings or his 'father's'. He has already come out with the fact to his people about the truth behind his father's genetic manipulation. I know you've heard about the accusations. Well as Master Kaiba already admits, it's all true. Of course no one blames him, however he is willing to accept all those children as siblings. Now, Mr. Kaiba… both Mr. Kaibas will be honored to give you separate, exclusive interviews. We will share what we know, if you share what you know as well as refuse to report it until we give you the word. Part of our promise is that we will give you everything in a timely manner. Right now, there may be a few rumors but nothing substantive, which is why this information was not distributed. Yet, Mr. Kaiba does wish to set the record straight so to speak. He will do this, all of this, giving you a story worth a Pulitzer if not several other prizes, a story that will guarantee your value to any publication. In fact, if you ever need a job, we will find one here for you. Do you agree?"

Kanzi stared at her. Leaning back, he paused as he tried to calm himself. Sighing, he folded his hands and leaned forward. "It was an anonymous tip, given to me in my email. I checked out the information and found that all of them are in the hospital. What other similarities exist between them, we could not find any, except that they were all male."

"One female has since been attacked. As for their relationship, all of them are either genetically related to Kaiba or close friends to those related to Kaiba. You've heard the rumors of Gozabarou Kaiba interfering with his worker's lives. Well, it's true. As Mr. Kaiba will tell you, his adoptive father deliberately picked women that appealed to his idea of quality; IQ, height, racial background, medical history, and then made sure their husbands were the same blood type as himself. He then arranged for them to have trouble reproducing. He did this so he could suggest a clinic. Once they went, he would replace their husband's sperm with his own. Gozabarou Kaiba may have as many as 100 children, including the present Mr. Kaibas. So you see, they do have a connection. In fact, the person who is attacking the Mr.(delete Mr.) Kaibas, who planted the bombs and shot at them, is the one who tipped you off. His name is Gatchaman and ,we believe that he too is related to Gozabarou Kaiba… our suspect is Noa Kaiba. No, he's not named after Gozabarou's dead son. He is Gozabarou's dead son.

"The technology that serves as a basis for the holographic games, was first used to transfer the 'essence' of Noa Kaiba into a computer base. We are hoping to correct what went wrong. The transfer may have damaged his mind. Since he has lived in a virtual world, he can navigate the web with little trouble. He has exploited a weakness that Gozabarou deliberately built into our mainframe. The same mainframe that we used to control access to the VR where those poor children are trapped. Within a week, Mr. Kaiba plans to rescue them. He however can not go in without preparation or he may be lost, and with him, our only way of locking VR to this insane child." Mudaro stared at him. "It is unbelievable, yet it is so. This is why we can't let you go, we can't even let you use a computer that has a dead connection to the internet. We have found that he can access it. At the moment, we have someone posing as you, and 'you' have composed a letter telling your managing editor that you have to go chase down a lead and you will be out of contact for up to two weeks. I'm sorry to do this, but outside this building, outside of a certain area, he can find you and kill you for agreeing to not break this story.

Kanzi stared at her, "This better be the best story ever."

"Well… of course it is!" Mudaro smiled slightly, thinking on everything she'd learned. It was incredible, it was impossible! She knew that Kanzi would never know everything. However, she was of the opinion that he should have not been told even this much. She stood up and headed to the door. As she opened it, she turned to look at Kanzi. "You do know of course that if you betray us, we'll kill you."

Kanzi watched as the door closed and wondered if he would hear his death coming.

* * *

Malik opened his eyes and smiled, stepping closer to his lover, he wrapped his arm around his waist. "Marik? Or should I call you Naquada?"

"Only if you want me to spank you," Marik looked at his younger lover and laughed as his face turned pink. "Kinky, we can explore that later, for now, why don't we talk about… the past?"

"What's to tell?" Malik murmured, nuzzling his lover's side.

"How I died. Why I died. Who was responsible, why I carried such anger over into this life, and why I hurt you so. I sought revenge, and I had every reason to. I hurt you. I hurt you and I will likely hurt you again. Because right now, the thought of you… in danger scares me. I am not used to this, I feel odd even speaking like this."

"Because you aren't used to actually talking? We don't care, Rashid and I. We don't care if you never say sweet words, or even admit to loving us. We know you do. You don't have to explain anything. After what sister told me…. I love you, I never want you to be hurt again, but I'm glad you were the one who took over then. I… I don't know that I could have done what you did. If I could have fought against my father." Malik squeezed his lover, tight. He rubbed his cheek against the naked warm skin. "What is this place, it's beautiful."

Marik looked around. The room was made of golden stones, murals were painted in blues and greens, all around the room, and set into the stone were gems, that glittered in the sunlight; red, green, blue, and orange. One whole wall was covered in wonderful purple lapis. To the left, sat a sunken tub that was tiled in ceramic, lotuses floated on the water. Jasmine was potted in long troughs on three sides of the pool. In the doorways that connected each room of the suite, there were hung fine thin strips of linen. Each one was beaded at the end with blue and white stone beads. A breeze danced through the rooms, causing the linen strips to move, the beads leaping and clicking happily.

"It's home. My home. This is the set of rooms I was given when I was but six years old. I loved it. It was in here that I was murdered. My life was stolen by a person I trusted. The head of my guard." Marik remembered. His eyes looked into the past, over five thousand years. "Each of us had our own personal guards. Each leader of personal guards, all of whom reported to the head of the Pharaoh's guards who was in charge of the palace. The palace guards were mainly of one clan, one house. How much of the desire, the hunger to kill me came from the sorcerer and how much from himself, I don't know."

Malik stared into his other face, he knew that if Marik was ever to heal that he had to speak of this yet, he really didn't want to hear this it.

The breeze that had been running gently through the room was now picking up. The light outside started to fail and Marik's voice started once again, "He hated me, the way only a love could become hate. I have to believe he loved me, he had watched over me since I was just a child. When I was a babe, he was eight. He would watch me, hold me, and bond with me, that's the way it was done. The guards would bond in childhood to their charges. That way they grew up knowing us, wanting to take care of us. It made for some strong bonds. That is why I knew he loved me. Except he murdered me…

"He found me in my room and held me close. He kissed my cheek and face, stroked my scalp, and caressed my skin. Then he looked at me, eyes on mine, and they were strange. They had all the love as usual and something… strange. His hands cupped my face and roamed down my neck to wrap around it gently. I felt no anger, no fear. He tightened them, and still I had no problem. I trusted him and as it became harder to breath, I struggled and fought. I couldn't believe that he was doing this and then he pulled out a knife and licked my cheek. I passed out. When I came to, he had me bound onto a stone table and cut into me. He cut words onto my back. He kept me for two days like this. And then on the third day when he saw me, bloody and in pain, he kissed me and said he would never let me be taken from him. He took me into his arms and carried me back to my rooms. He knew he would be caught so when the guards ran in, he kissed me, and his blade found my heart. I do not know what happened to him. But from that time on, I hated him.

"What evil had I done to deserve that? I wasn't evil. I wasn't irreligious but I awoke in this body, my body, in his hands again. To be born back into the family that killed me. The man who had killed me was the man standing over me. Cutting into me again. And I couldn't stop it. Except I could. I did, I overwhelmed you and used the magic that I should have used then. I killed him, and you screamed. I didn't understand."

* * *

Isis sighed. The thought of Bakura, insane as he was, in the hands of Nkosi was frightening. Who thought that Bakura could be taken so easily? Frowning, she stood up from the elegant couch. Kaiba, definitely had taste. She knelt beside the couch and pulled out a cloth bag. Opening the lace drawn neck, she felt for an object. As her hand closed around what she sought, she brought it out and laid it on the coffee table. Walking over to door, she pulled the door.

"Excuse me?"

A guard turned, his black eyes attentive on her face. "Yes, Ms. Ishtar?"

"Please, call me Isis. Are you aware that we are using 'alternative' methods in this fight? It will not be won by force of arms or words."

He nodded, "Yes, Master Kaiba has also instructed us to inform you that if you wish to use any such alternatives we are to cooperate with you fully as long as we are allowed to observe. As a safeguard to you, of course."

Isis nodded, her fingers stroking the torc. "Yes, thank you. I need a few supplies if I may trouble you."

"No trouble, Miss" He pulled out a phone and pressed a button, he listened to it for a moment before speaking. "Ms. Ishtar needs some supplies."

"Yes, a real silver circular platter, a bottle of pure water, and a bottle of the clearest oil you can find for me." She noticed his brown streaked hair, twisted into a tail.

He repeated it and listened for a moment. "It will be here in 15 minutes, Miss. If you don't mind, I will watch or we can call a female guard up here."

"I don't mind, but please, call me Isis... and you are?" Isis asked softly.

"Hiraata Yui, Ms. Isis. If I may ask, what exactly will you be doing?"

"I am a child of the desert; one thing we have much of is stone. I can scry... that is view things with the torc, but this only gives me glimpses of what may come or what has been but not always what is. For that, I need to 'view' it in another way. I will do so by using what is known as a black mirror. A black mirror is a slab of flawless obsidian. The oil will be mixed with some herb essences. The silver connects with the moon, which is full tonight. All this hopefully, will allow me to view Nkosi and what he is doing... after all there are more worlds than this, if you do not believe it, look to your boss's VR. Nkosi is using that world; mayhap I can spy into it."

Yui nodded and thought. "Ms. Isis, you need the silver platter but what about the essences, do you need to breathe them in as others do incense?"

"No, it would help but it's not necessary." Isis shook her head.

Yui nodded and opened his phone again. "Hey, add a chafing dish with sterno to that... the platter needs to be heated." He closed it. "It will be heated, only the best chances are acceptable."

Isis nodded and stepped back, opening the door to the guard. Yui stepped in and closed it. She led him over to the table and unwrapped the item she took from her bag. An oval of obsidian, flat, black as night, glass, and that was slightly larger than both hands laid tip to tip. A huge piece, he'd never seen the like. He reached out to touch it but pulled back. Isis smiled and nodded. The piece was, with no evidence of tool marks, the top was as smooth as marble with no nicks.

"Beautiful..."

"Yes, it is over three thousand years old, a family heirloom." She reached out and took his hand, moving it to stroke over the surface. "When it is ready, I will place the mirror on the silver platter, and pour the oil and essences over it. The moon will shine upon it and what is hidden from normal scrying shall be revealed. All secrets uncovered, as nothing can hide from it."

"Truly, Ms. Isis?" Yui smiled, "It will reveal all?"

"Oh yes, for many years it was used by parents contracting marriage for their children, for if two people were to touch it under the full moon... it would reveal their future." Isis started as a knock sounded on the door.

* * *

Seto dropped the visors and box onto the bed. Joey rolled over and wrapped an arm around his lover. Lips pressed against the soft skin behind the pup's ear. "Joey... wake up."

"Hmmmm Seto, sleep wit' me." Joey wrapped one leg over Seto's.

"Can't, mutt. I have an idea. We really need to all talk together. We have a self-contained VR unit installed here, what I have here is a portable one. What I was thinking is that we could manage a conversation with Jahi and Seferet in real time." Seto sat up quickly, his mind already thinking of questions he wanted to ask.

Joey stared up at him. "You're kidding. Hasn't this thing caused enough problems?"

Seto stared down at him. "Actually, they have been very useful. Simply because a deranged psycho handed my most complex computer code over to another psycho doesn't mean it's not valid or useful."

"Hey... Tris' ain't no psycho got it?"

"He's obsessive, irrational, and through his own misbegotten greed and desire for revenge has handed his own lover into the hand of two people both driven well beyond sanity. His greatest sin is using my technology to do it! That doesn't mean **my** technology is at fault. _Human_ error was!"

Joey stared at the other boy, Seto's blue eyes burned with anger. The young CEO's hands were clenched in fists. The blond sighed and backed down. "You're right... human error created this, but those VR helmets made it way too easy. Of course, it wouldn't have happened if he didn't steal the code in the first place. Maybe the thing is your tech is too user friendly. Maybe after this, Tris can plug the holes for you but you should get your tech guy to redo the entire protections, use nothing of Mrs. Taylor's work."

"Already done."

Joey pulled Seto down beside him. Humming, he laid his head on Seto's shoulder. "How about this... let's leave the VR for now. I just woke up, I don't want to go back to sleep."

"Then you should get out of bed." Seto pointed out, moving the visors and portable unit to the nightstand.

"No, I wanna stay in bed... with you, Seto."

Seto froze, an idea forming in his mind. Shrugging, he turned to Joey. "And what shall we be doing?"

"Oh... testing my reflexes..."

* * *

"Interesting."

"What is so, my other self?" Nkosi walked up behind Noa and knelt beside him, sinking into the soft sand of their oasis.

Noa turned his head and smiled at his past self. "Welcome back, again. Did you have fun today?"

"There is none of those we have particular interest in participating in the VR realm. In fact, there are very few whatsoever. I think our dear brother has caught on. Perhaps we should not have taken Bakare so precipitously." Nkosi stroked the sea green hair; it reminded him of his beloved Nile... so long ago. The skin was pale and flawless, the hair like the softest linen. Although they were so much the same, they were so different. Nkosi enjoyed the differences. "And what have you, o delight of my eye, been up to?"

Noa laughed, "Hmmmm, do you like the oasis? I opted for white sand like Hawaii instead of golden, but I kept the Nile. It's over there somewhere. What's interesting is... remember what I told you about electricity?"

"Hmmm, the magical fire that fuels your tools. Yes." Nkosi brushed one finger against the pale skin on the back of his mate's neck.

Noa shuddered and his eyes closed slightly. "Ummm, yes, yes that's right, Nkosi. We use a certain amount every day, just for the basic things: lighting, to cook food, computers, it is a trickle but it's there. Except it's not. We don't turn it off unless we aren't going to be there for a while or if there's an accident. From what I can tell, they haven't stopped it, but they aren't using it."

"They?"

"Our brothers and sisters of the spirit if not of the flesh. The Ishtars, Taylors, and Mutos, none of them are using any electricity. Oh a few amps for alarms and clocks and what not, but none for lights, ovens, televisions, or computers. That means... they are not home and have not been for a while."

"Then they have forted up with my brother."

Noa nodded, "Yeah, and that's a problem."

"Why, my dear?" Nkosi wrapped one arm around Noa's waist and hugged him, his chin resting on Noa's shoulder. "Our plan proceeds apace."

"Because, I was using Gatchaman's information, he's offline as well. That means, he's working for Seto now. Gatchaman had to be one of his friends

"If it was a friend, why would he put our brother's company in danger?"

"I don't know, unless he has a viper in his breast. Maybe, maybe he doesn't know it yet. In which case, he will have to fight a battle on two fronts... and that, my dear, is a weakness."

"Maybe, maybe... Bakare has been interesting."

"Oh?" Nkosi rubbed his cheek against the soft hair.

"Hai." Noa turned around and pointed down towards the oasis' pool. He stood up, stretching, knowing that Nkosi loved to watch him. Holding out a hand to his hopefully soon to be lover, he led him down by the water and stared down into it. "Watch."

* * *

Bakare leaned against a crumbled wall and closed his eyes. The pain in his leg was growing. He wouldn't be surprised if Nkosi had coated the blade with a poison. Now he just had to find his way out. Rubbing his head, he tried to figure out what the hell he was gonna do. Stumbling to his feet, he started down the street.

_Damn, this 'old city' is almost as bad as the funeral city of Anmne Kharsis. In fact, this place reminds me of it. I can see it; if I turn left there would be the False Treasury. And if I..._

Bakare stopped and stared at the building before him. It was the False Treasury.

_In fact if the stone was golden then this would be the funeral city of Anmne Kharsis. It is so similar. How could Kaiba know this place, could it have been Seferet who built this... wait, no, I remember my time in the city. I remember, I remember a newcomer into the city. A mage. NKOSI... damn, that's why this place is so familiar. Never mind, I have been all over the funeral city. I know my way out now. When I get out and back to Ryou's body, I'm going to break every little gear in that false body of his! By the Thief God, I swear it!_

* * *

Tristan grabbed his hair and tugged. Angrily, he spun around and stared at the others. "Kisigawa, that won't work! I should know as I made sure it wouldn't!"

"I know you are the infamous 'Gatchaman' but that doesn't mean you know everything about our systems. Hell, there are parts even I don't know. Lords of Death, save me from disrespectful teens!" Kisigawa sat back down and tilted the screen upwards.

Tristan stared at him. Striding over, he picked up the reference book and tossed it at Kisigawa before overturning the table. He kicked Kisigawa's chair from under the surprised man. Kisigawa's aides ran to the corner.

"Listen to me, you stupid FUCK. My mother built most, if not all this, I have everything, including her notes. I know her better than you do; I know how she set things up! I have been working inside Kaiba Corps **MAIN COMPUTER FOR SIX YEARS**! And you know more than me?" Tristan's eyebrows arced. He balled his fist in the technical manager's jacket and twisted it until the older man choked. "I doubt it. Now for you this is 'academic' operation... my _boyfriend_ has been hijacked and you tell me, ME, Gatchaman, hacker **SUPREME** , that you know more about a system, that you admit you don't know everything about, than I who have been inside the system and fucked it up ten ways from Sunday, is that right?"

Kisigawa gasped, his eyes bulging. Tristan shoved him away, the older man's head hitting the wall.

"Now listen very carefully. That. Won't. Work. I know because I disabled that node. All it will do is terminate there. I caused the computer to lobotomize that node. Got it? Now get off your old ass and help me find something _useful_."

* * *

Ryou stared at the mess in the room and stepped forward. He felt... so alone, now that Bakare wasn't there. It was fine for a while but it had been almost a day and he hated it. Nodding to the two aides in the corner, he walked over to his boyfriend and laid one hand on his shoulder.

Tristan twisted to stare at the person touching him. His face was twisted with anger that flowed out as he saw Ryou. "Hey, how are you?"

"Tired, and so are you. Kaiba has set aside a room for us, why don't we go lay down for a while. Tristan, you won't find him any faster if you break down and I need you. I need you and him. You're the only one who can find him for me." Ryou stepped close and laid his head on Tristan's shoulder. "Please, rest now. With me?"

"Yeah," Tristan wrapped his arms around his shy lover and hugged him tight. He loved the feel of his hair, his scent. "Ryou, I'm so sorry... I didn't know. I... I would never, never have done this if I knew."

"I know. Come." Ryou moved back, taking Tristan's cool hand and led him from the room. He held him around the waist as they walked down the hall, as they went in the elevator to their floor. He held him as they found their room, even helped him undress and climb into bed. He held the taller boy as he cried and swore that he'd find Ryou's other half. Ryou said nothing, just stroked his soft hair. Patting the cool flesh as Tristan shook and stared with scared eyes. He listened as Tristan finally wore himself out enough to go to sleep. As he stared up at the ceiling, he stroked Tristan's tanned back.

* * *

Ryou turned toward the clock. 11:57 p.m. Tristan was still asleep, moving carefully, he untangled himself from the other boy and stood up. He stared at him. Anger started to build in him and he moved back, before he did something he would regret.

_Damn him, damn him, damn him. All because he was pissed with Kaiba. Oh, I've heard it before, so many times. 'Kaiba doesn't care who he hurts. Kaiba is cold. Kaiba deserves it.' But did Bakare?!!! How cruel are you, Tristan, you didn't care who got hurt as long as it made Kaiba look bad. This is your fault. You delivered Bakare into their hands. YOU BASTARD!!!_

Ryou gasped for breath, wiping the tears from his face. He slid down the wall and raised his fist. Biting deep into it, he finally allowed himself to cry. For the first time in so long, he was all alone.


	17. Chapter 17

Gin no Umi o Wataru  
To Cross the Silver Sea  
Chapter 17  
By [Sunsinger](mailto:sunsinger@uninhibited.net?subject=Re:%20Gin%20no%20Umi%20o%20Wataru,%20Chapter%2017)  


Joey watched as Seto headed down the hall. Seto looked worse than he had before. Yugi's eye have lost their twinkle, even Mokuba seemed more subdued, and for what?! They haven't gotten any closer to solving the problem and freeing the people trapped in the virtual games. When he asked Seto, all he said was that they hadn't been working at this for very long and something would come up soon Growling, he leaned back on the bed and tried not to scream

* * *

Jahi smiled as he plucked the strands of the lap harp. He looked up, his tanned skin set around turquoise eyes. _Come in, Joey. This is, after all, your mind. What is your idiot mate doing now?_

"Hey, that's just it. Nothing! We know who has the people, we know the system, and we're so worried about making sure every little thing has a plan, a back up plan, and a back up plan for the back up plan. I understand we can't just go in there and kick ass, but Seto is gonna run himself ragged just to make sure he planned for everything. Which he can't do anyways."

Jahi nodded, standing up he moved behind Joey and rubbed the knot that was forming right between Joey's shoulder blades. _I understand. Sef used to do the same thing. It annoyed me. I'd distract him with sex but I doubt you're close enough to Seto for this yet. Your Seto, his Noa, my Seferet, and our Nkosi. They all have one really big problem. They are Royals or as close as to be in this day and age._

If they don't handle it, they believe it will all turn sour. They have this idea that they can see everything, do everything, be everything. It doesn't help that my Sef was very used to taking care of his siblings. The Pharaoh was too busy learning to be a pharaoh. So of course it fell to the second born, or perhaps I should say the known second born, to be the one in charge of the others. Much like your Seto, though yours only has one thankfully. Except he feels that way with his employees and his new found siblings.

Noa and Nkosi of course knew how he would react once he discovered the connection.

Joey nodded, catching his bottom lip in his teeth. "They're jerking him around and they mean to do it to him for a long time!"

Jahi nodded, still rubbing the knot. His eyes connected to Joey's and twin smiles curled their lips as twin voices rang out in the room. 

"And they hate that!"

* * *

Yugi followed the bodyguard down the hallway, when he had asked the guy why he was under guard in Kaiba Corp., he just smiled and said, they never let their principal down. The guy nodded to another standing in front of a door. The guy at the door knocked and opened it. Poking his head inside, he asked for Duke.

Duke pulled open the door, "Hey, Yugi. What's up?"

"Ummm can we talk? Alone?" Yugi shifted from foot to foot.

"Yeah." Ducking back in, he waved to his lover and stepped out. "I'm afraid these guys won't leave us alone but ummm is there somewhere else we can go? ."

Yugi's guard smiled at them and waved them further down the hall. The guard who had asked Duke to step out followed behind them. They walked down the hall silently until they came to a door. Qin, Yugi's guard opened the door and waved them in. "We'll wait out here so you may talk privately."

Yugi nodded and entered the room. The door shut behind Duke. They were in a large conference room. One whole wall was glass and it looked over Domino. Yugi stared out the windows at the lights and cars moving far down below.

"So, what's up, Yugi?"

"It's Tristan… and Ryou." Yugi frowned. "Even Yami is worried. He… thinks Ryou is really bad off without Bakura. I agree with him. Tristan, he blames himself and…"

"HE SHOULD!" Duke's eyes blazed. "He didn't have a secure system, he basically handed Bakura over to Noa. Now I admit, this other version of Ryou, this Bakura is nuts but to just hand him over to the same person who shot up a school is insane!"

"He didn't mean to, he… made a mistake, but he loves them. You do know he's with them, he loves them, he really does. I'm just worried, I'm worried that he'll do something stupid. Yami suggested that he talks to someone but who would believe us?"

Duke nodded. "Nuts, well… any advice from the pharaoh?"

Yugi frowned and changed before Duke's eyes, "If this was my court, I would have him speak to one of my court magicians. Most likely, Seferet as the wielder of the scales, he can do the most, save for Tjatyu. Seferet for all his gruffness was still the most comforting to talk to."

Duke stared at him, "It amazes me every time you do something like this. Ok, so you want him to talk to Seferet but isn't that… Kaiba?"

Yami nodded. "That is a problem. Seferet may hate someone and still counsel them, Kaiba on the other hand…"

"Well, Shadi is here, he can talk to him." Duke smiled, "the biggest problem, is that Tristan is going to destroy himself at this rate and then where would Ryou be?"

Yami nodded, "And you and Pegasus?"

"He doesn't think it will last, he figures that in five or ten years I'll want a wife but until then, he's going to enjoy all the time we do have."

"Then he will be surprised when you celebrate your thirtieth anniversary, won't he?" Yami asked before changing places with his lover and Yugi ran for the door.

"WHA? Yami, do you know something?!" Duke ran after the pharaoh.

* * *

She hated to rush about but she couldn't afford to be late today. Trying desperately to get her erring she fumed as a knock came on her door.

"One minute!" Slipping it in, she grabbed her shoes and slid them on. Sighing, she walked over the door and opened it.

"Mrs. Taylor? May we speak to you about your son?"

* * *

Tristan groaned and slammed his head into the desk. "I am majorly screwed."

"Oh, yes, you truly are, darling." A female voice replied from the doorway.

Tristan jerked his head up and turned around. His adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed air. "Mom. Didn't expect to see you here."

Mrs. Taylor walked over and nodded, slipping off her shoes, she sighed. "I know. What I didn't know was that my beloved son was taking what I taught him and using it to abuse Kaiba Corp computers, hacking in to them, not to mention that somehow you managed to lose one of your two boyfriends. Of course I didn't know you had boyfriends, hell I didn't know you were gay. So Instead I get a couple of suits to come to my door to let me know that you fucked up a system that I spent eight years working on. I don't know exactly what pisses me off more. However, I do know that once we save your boyfriend; you, me, he and he, will be sitting down to have a nice long talk. And yes, you are in so much trouble that it may in fact be another eight years before you ever go out on a date again. Ok, precious?"

Tristan nodded, he knew that his mother was beyond angry at him, otherwise she would be sniffing him and insulting his skills as unworthy. A glare from her and he pushed all his notes over to her. "Mom, I… I really haven't been going out with them for long. I just started and then this happened. There's…a lot and I don't know how to explain it but I never meant to hide anything from except the ahhhh KC stuff."

Mrs. Taylor kept reading over the notes. "We will discuss your complete and total tapestry of lies later, for now tell me why you can't implement theory three?"

"Ummm yeah, that's because of what's in the system. Did you know why Gozabarou Kaiba needed so much space? Do you know what he put in there?"

"I heard many rumors but actual truth… I doubt it."

Tristan stared at his mom, knowing he had to tell her. "Don't. Gozabarou downloaded the complete memories and experiences of his own child."

He sighed and started at the beginning

* * *

Bakura frowned. He tried to block the pain from his leg. He knew who had trapped him here and why but he also knew staying in the enemy's camp was pure idiocy. Gritting his teeth, he walked around the virtual world, trying to remember something that his other half said.

~~~~

"So this game, is played only in the mind?"

"Not exactly, Bakura. It's more like how we can play a game in our mind with each other, except the computer let my mind connect to another person's mind."

Bakura's eyes lit up, "So I don't have play a shadow game with only these fools, here in Domino?"

"NO! No more shadow games! Please. Maybe it's better to say that the computer connects to a special part of the internet… ahhh a sorta invisible realm where computer's talk. When you get to that place you can battle with others or complete a quest or just hang out." Ryou smiled. "Like a less violent place that your Shadow Realm, also with more colors!"

Bakura growled and swung half heartedly at his gentle half, "So if this internet is a place where computers talk, why can't we use yours to get t here? Why do we have to use that idiot priest's?"

Ryou shrugged, "Well, because Kaiba has locked this particular place on the net. He's placed trapes and locks."

"Hmmm, am I not the king of thieves?"

~~~

I am the King of Thieves, and no lock, even by that puerile infant Nkosi will keep me out. If he's trapped me, then perhaps he has trapped others. One should really make sure that their victims can't escape before placing them in a trap. Oh this will be so much fun!

* * *

Joey opened his eyes blinking against the bright light. A noise from off to the side caught his attention. Seto was in the closet, bent over and searching for something. Smiling at the sight of his boyfriend, he sat up and pulled his knees up and leaned forward. "It's not there. I tossed it. I thought we should settle this. We were in love. We can be in love. We are giving it a chance, right? Well then, I want the only pain in this relationship to be what I give you and the only pain I'm gonna give you is stretching, biting, and sucking pain. Got it?"

Seto turned around slowly and stared at him. "You tossed it."

"Ummm." Joey smiled ruefully and bit his lip, twisting the end of the blanket. "Yeah, I don't care what Gozabarou Kaiba did to ya! If my blood dad isn't allowed to beat me then that fuck doesn't have any right to hurt ya. And don't say he ain't; don't you say that without what he did to you, you'd still hurt yourself. Cause you wouldn't! If you get to needing it then you come to me. That's part of being in love, ain't it?"

"Joey."

"No, and ya know something? Why haven't we gone after Noa and this Nkosi guy? We know where they are."

Seto stood up and walked over to the bed, sitting beside his boyfriend. "Because we have to plan, we have to make contingency plans, we need to block off any plan that will cause us problems. We have to plan…"

"But we can't."

"We can." Seto nodded and stood up, "Rest now."

"Seto, we can't. No matter what we do, this guy has all the power of the internet right? And no matter what we do, he's gonna outfox us. So being clever isn't the key. Maybe fighting is. You don't think I win all my fights by being smart, do ya?"

Seto raised one eyebrow.

"Maybe what we need to do is fight. This guy knows you, he knows how you act right? He knows how you plan. So don't, throw his plans off course."

Seto turned and headed for the door.

"I know what yer gonna do. You're gonna go to your office and read reports and yell at people to step up quick. Same as ya been doing, right? I'm telling ya that it's the wrong thing. You need to forget that, you're running around trying to manage every little thing. Enough!. Stop worrying about what Tristan and they are doing. You may be a computer genius but he managed to hack you and no matter what you did, he still managed to escape. So maybe, just maybe, he's better at this than you. He has the skills, use him but don't look over his should. He hates and it annoys him. Unless he's trying solve problem with his fists, don't bug him. And get his mom in here. She'll sit on him and she taught him everything he knows. You trust these people, your people, right?

"Stop worrying about the people trapped in the VR world. I'm worried about them too but we, you and I, can't do a single thing for them! They, as far as we know aren't being hurt, and Nkosi may have made a serious mistake. He got Bakura trapped in there. A lot of that world is based on the Egypt we remember, right? Well, Bakura was actually there. If I know Bakura, he's gonna find some way to break out wherever they're keeping him and cause trouble.

"There is so much we can't do that we should do what we can. And that's fight Noa and his alter ego. Remember, their problem is with us, it started with us. In Ancient Egypt it started with you telling Nkosi, 'No'. Here it started with you taking Noa's place. I know it sounds strange but trust me, Seto. Noa is taking advantage of you. He knows how you act. They're jerking you around, and you're letting them."

Seto stared at him. "Every time I think you are just opening your mouth to bark you actually say something interesting."

"Oh yeah… no dog jokes if you ever, and I do mean ever, expect me to go on a date with you!" Joey got up, and headed towards the dresser. 

"Fine, I'll give them their orders and wait, oh great lord of ages." Seto smirked and bowed.

"Fuck waiting, we're gonna get in there and beat the crap out of Noa and Nkosi. You call the others in, except Tristan. I think we should grab Yami, Yugi, Ryou, Marik, and Shadi. Leave the others here."

"We? No. I'll take that insufferable pharaoh and go. You will be staying here." Seto turned to the door. A shoe connected with the back of his head and bounced onto the bed. Eyes wide, he felt where it had hit and slowly turned around.

"Fuck you, Seto. I'm going. And you can either let me go or I'll find a way when you're not looking. And if you try to block that then I promise you, when you get back. I'll leave."

"Fine. You can instruct my driver to take you back to that rat's nest you call an apartment." Seto's eyes were cold.

"You bastard! I don't want to leave, but I don't want you to decide what I can and can not do. I'm going in. In case you haven't noticed, I need to be there."

Seto sighed and sat on the bed. "Why? Neither Noa nor Nkosi have a problem with you."

"Because you need me, Seto. And Seferet needs Jahi. You're always stronger when you're taking care of someone else. I am not gonna let ya go, so don't worry."

_He is right, my other self. Seto, stop being as much an idiot as I used to be._ A mocking voice sounded in his mind. Seferet was amused but not surprised at this turn of events.

"Fine. If the doctor approves of you going, then I'll say nothing else."

"Thanks." Joey knelt down to pull up his pants.

Seto walked over to the door and opened it, turning back he stared a rare sight. A quiet Joey. "Next time, don't even bother telling if you plan to leave. Just leave."


End file.
